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Chris Waller crashed through the 50 group 1 wins mark last week but he still remembers being on zero. He also still remembers the Spring Champion Stakes.
He remembers All Back Gold and what it felt like when he lost the horse he thought was the best he had and might ever have ever.
"I remember when he died I thought will I get another one like him," Waller said.
All Black Gold won the Gloaming Stakes in 2006 for a young New Zealand trainer beginning to find his way in Sydney.
He went into the Spring Champion Stakes with the hope of getting his first group 1 success. He told Fairfax Media at the time what it would mean if his three-year-old could win.
"Winning one is very important for a young trainer," Waller said. "The group 1 means a hell of a lot more than the prizemoney. It is about proving that you can do it and having the experience to do it."
All Black Gold would find Teranaba too strong in the Spring Champion, running second in an edition which also featured future Melbourne Cup winner Viewed and star mare Tuesday Joy.
It would take until the 2008 Doncaster and Triple Honour for Waller to get that group 1 win.
Waller still hasn't won a Spring Champion Stakes but he gets a great chance with odds-on favourite Vanbrugh and Devil Hawk at Randwick on Saturday.
It is clear looking back that his philosophies on training haven't change that much. He has always been a gatherer of information as he said in 2006.
"You use all that advice, it is good to have, but at the end of the day, I think when training racehorses you've got to do it yourself," he said.
"It all comes down to that little thing inside you, that gut feeling. You've got to back yourself. You listen to your staff, your trackwork riders, all the good and the bad things, you weigh it all up and then make your decisions."
Waller gets those decisions right more often than not and the long campaign for Vanbrugh, which also won the Gloaming Stakes, doesn't worry him.
"I think you need to have a good grounding for this sort of race. He has that solid base and really races like a stayer," Waller said.
Vanbrugh is a genuine type that grabs the bit and fires to the line. Devil Hawk, which won the Spring Stakes at Newcastle before finishing midfield in the Gloaming, is different.
"If he does everything right there is no doubt that he could and would win this race," Waller assessed. "Even when he won at Newcastle he didn't really attack the line like you would want.
"He is a stayer but might be a bit like his brother Hawkspur and need gelding to get that real race focus. That's what you need to win a group 1."
Waller only had the one group 1 runner in 2006, Saturday he will have six in two states and three of them will be well supported favourites. Things have certainly changed.
"I can remember back to All Black Gold and how nervous I was going to the races. The nerves are still there for the weekend but I have learned to enjoy it," he said.
Kermadec, the ruling Cox Plate favourite, will step out against the best weight-for-age horse in the country in the Caulfield Stakes. He will be favourite even though it is first try at 2000m.
"He stepping out in distance, but I think he will handle it. It is going to be a good test for him because it is a very strong field," Waller said.
He will later saddle Flamingo Star and Strawberry Boy in the Toorak Handicap and then Press Statement will go for his second group 1 mile in the Caulfield Guineas.
"He goes to Caulfield for the first time but I'm confident it will not be a problem because he is such a relaxed horse," Waller said. "He has worked the Melbourne way and I'm very happy with him heading into Saturday."
