Extract from a story by Ray Thomas in the Daily Telegraph 14/12/12
Chris Waller is too modest to admit to it but that is just what he has done. He will never be remembered as a famous revolutionary like Che Guevara, Martin Luther, Gandhi or Mao Tse Tung but the trainer has become a pioneer in his sport.
Chris Waller & Dean Watt - A Dynamic Duo
When Waller first travelled to England five years ago and purchased a batch of tried racehorses, it accelerated his ascent to stardom and began a trend which has transformed Australian racing.
Stephanie Waller, Dean Watt, Chris Waller & Fiona Watt
The so-called "Waller Experiment" has now become a proven theory.
When Waller's seemingly endless production line of imported stayers began to dominate Sydney racing, it forced other trainers to follow his lead.
The European-tried racehorse market is now flooded with Australian buyers purchasing stayers from countries such as England, Ireland, France, Italy and Germany.
Waller's decision to invest in ready-to-race overseas gallopers has proven to be a stroke of genius - but if it was not for the equine influenza outbreak five years ago, his "revolution" may never have started.
When EI shut down Sydney racing for the entire 2007 spring carnival, Waller suddenly had plenty of idle time. This is where Waller first identified an opportunity in Sydney's staying ranks he could potentially exploit - and went to England to see if his hunch was right.
Chris Waller - Sydney's Premier Trainer
"We could see there was an affordable way to get tried horses from overseas into our stable rather than spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on staying yearlings here that would take time to develop," Waller said.
"It was during EI so we had some spare time to go over to England and have a look at what was on offer."
Waller's gamble met with instant success. Among his initial group of stayers purchased in England were Shadow Cabinet and Bright Mind, both city winners in 2007-08.
The trainer has been returning to Europe each year since and winning race after race with the likes of Stand To Gain, My Kingdom Of Fife, Hawk Island, Strike One, Natmana, Big Al Hazim, Wazn, Permit, Praise Be, Stout Hearted, Kelinni and Moriarty.
The overseas influence has also been a significant factor in Waller's surge up the Sydney trainers' premiership standings in recent years. Investors in the stock market would appreciate their share portfolio charting the steady growth that has been Waller's rise and rise in Sydney racing.
It was only a decade ago when Waller trained 13 Sydney winners for the season for prizemoney of $365,560. His winning ratio basically flat-lined for the next three years before he led in 39 winners of $1.7 million in 2006-07.
The EI outbreak obviously impacted on every Sydney trainer's season in 2007-08 but Waller still prepared 36 winners of $3.2 million.
Waller has continued to train more winners and his stable runners have collect more prizemoney in each season since with the trainer claiming the last two Sydney premierships with 117 wins and 124.5 wins respectively.
With nearly five months of the 2012-13 season completed, Waller's stable success is surging exponentially. The champion trainer has already led in 68.5 winners at an average strike-rate of 1.6 winners every metropolitan meeting.
4 in a day - the right way to break a record !
If Waller can maintain this win rate - and that will be difficult given the competitive nature of Sydney racing - then he could break through the 200-win barrier for the season, an unthinkable and unprecedented level of success.
Even if Waller's average of winners per meeting drops he still seems certain to smash the all-time Sydney training record of 156 wins set by the legendary Tommy Smith in 1974-75, equaled by his daughter Gai Waterhouse in 2002-03.
Such is the interest in Waller's phenomenal winning run this season, wagering operators are offering odds on whether the trainer can break the Smith-Waterhouse record.
Dean Watt & Chris Waller - Very Successful Partnership
But Waller's winning ways are not confined to stayers, either.
He produced arguably one of the most impressive juvenile winners of the season last week when Champagne Cath showed brilliant speed and romped home by more than three lengths.
Champagne Cath is now among the early favourites for the $2 million Magic Millions Classic at the Gold Coast on January 12.
Waller said Champagne Cath is likely to have one more lead-up run before the Magic Millions.
Waller is getting prepared for the yearling sales circuit which starts with the Magic Millions next month but he will be returning to Europe next year looking for more overseas staying talent. However, his "revolution" has come at a cost.
"It's getting more expensive to buy (tried racehorses) in England," he said. "But we will look anywhere if it has four legs and a tail and we feel it is suitable to our racing."
The Chris Waller Trained Dynamic Syndication Star - SPECIFIC CHOICE won the Inglis Bonus Race earlier this month - $168,500 to the winner - Together we continue to be able to keep our owners "Living The Dream"
In a decade, he has built a racing empire from the ground up. It was only 10 years ago when Waller trained 13 winners for the Sydney season - these days he can win that many in a week."It is a big job but we have the right people and systems in place now," he said.
"But I'm the first to admit we are still improving."
Chris Waller & Dean Watt’s Dynamic Syndications are expanding upon Chris' already successful tried horse theory, being the first to offer “proven but yet unraced 2yo’s”. It’s a new and exciting idea, where buyers for the first time, can see the horse they are interested in dash up against the clock over 200m, revealing to potential buyers their ability. Dynamic Syndications and Chris Waller brought home 3 colts from the NZ Ready To Run Sale and each has the individual partners stamp of approval.
Waller stated “I strongly endorse this concept for syndicating young racehorses, because it has eliminated the significant majority of risks associated with purchasing yearlings. It has removed much of the guesswork by allowing the individual to display its ability, with full anticipation that there is significant upside available. I recommend potential investors give due consideration to these colts being offered by Dynamic Syndications under this concept with the colt’s exposed ability. In my opinion, this allows all investors greater confidence in the product and offers transparency and integrity in the processes involved.