AT the top end, training winners is a numbers game. We’re just four months into this season and three-time Premiership trainer Chris Waller has already had 388 starters in Sydney metropolitan races, 226 more than the Gai Waterhouse stable at 160 who trails Waller in the Premiership by 18 winners. Few can compete at that end of the market and consequently leading stables of lesser size are needing to cultivate quality above volume to remain competitive.

It’s a theme familiar to Lee Freedman, a seven-time Victorian Premiership trainer, recently returned to the ranks of trainers in partnership with his brother Anthony. “We will devote 100% to the small team. We won’t win premierships but want to deliver the very best results to our clients, old and new, whether it’s a maiden or a Melbourne Cup.” Adelaide trainer Phillip Stokes emphasised that brilliantly during the Flemington Cup Carnival with his six runners winning four races from seven starts, including the Group 1 Emirates Stakes. Adelaide’s leading trainer debunked the myth that South Australian racing is weaker as a number of high profile trainers, such as Peter Moody and Gai Waterhouse, went winless over Flemington’s four days. In Sydney a younger trainer who continues to impress is Joe Pride. Consistently a top 10 trainer, Pride landed a telling blow at the Melbourne Cup Carnival when Terravista won the Darley Classic.