Lessons learned with superstar Winx explain why Chris Waller looked so relaxed – almost jovial, even – when discussing the hopes of race favourite Nature Strip in Saturday’s $15m The Everest.
Nature Strip was given a casual spin around Rosehill on Thursday before strutting around the parade ring in front of a decent media throng.
The relaxed affair was in complete contrast to the tense scenes involving Winx before her final race start in the autumn of 2019.
Camera crews had arrived from all corners of the globe to catch a glimpse of the once-in-a-generation racehorse who was looking to bow out with a 33rd successive win.
Winx had other plans and started to jump around and lash out with her hind legs. She even damaged a sponsor’s sign before undergoing a vet check.
Much of the focus will be on Waller and Nature Strip on the weekend, when 40,000 fans are expected to be trackside at Randwick.
James McDonald and The Everest favourite Nature Strip on Thursday morning.Credit:Nick Moir/SMH
But having survived the wild ride that was Winx, Waller knows better than most how to cope with public expectation and pressure.
The premier trainer even teared up when asked about Winx finally giving birth to a filly last weekend.
Speaking to the Herald afterwards, Waller said: “That [pressure racing Winx] just about killed us.
“She took us to a level where it almost broke us. It was like we were doing SAS training that we had never done before, but we came through it because we had a great horse, and she made us look good.
The Everest favourite Nature Strip was given an easy time on Thursday morning.Credit:Nick Moir/SMH
“We learned along the way. What she taught me was that it is just a horse race, regardless of the outcome. Once we went to that level – and we might not get to that same level again – we now know how to cope with things so much easier.”
Waller said Nature Strip deserved top billing with the bookies, but the price also reflected the fact the eight-year-old was no good thing.
“He’s not the $1.15 Winx used to be, and his price shows respect to the opposition,” Waller said. “He’s a one-in-two chance of winning. That price means tread with caution, it’s not a foregone conclusion, and there will be 11 other horses with significant rights to be [the winner].”
Waller said he needed about six months to overcome the emotional comedown after Winx’s retirement, and while having faith in his stable’s systems to keep churning out winners, he was surprised headliners like Verry Elleegant, a Melbourne Cup winner, and Nature Strip had emerged as quickly as they did in their own right.
The scenes with Nature Strip were a complete contrast to Winx who lashed out during her final Rosehill workout in 2019.Credit:Nick Moir
McDonald, who collected his sixth group 1 on the Waller-trainer Madame Pommery at Caulfield on Wednesday, flew back to Sydney to be with Nature Strip for the morning stroll.
The gun hoop is in even better career form than Nature Strip, with Waller happily declaring about his fellow Kiwi: “He’s a horseman, he respects the animal, he has a great relationship with the horse, and they respond to that.
“He deals with each opportunity professionally, and whether it’s an Everest, Melbourne Cup, or a Wednesday race at Canterbury, he’s that same competitive person. It’s hard to be in that zone so consistently. He eats, drinks and breathes racing.”
