Darren Weir’s 20 runners, resulting in five winners at Flemington on Saturday, is a record that surely will take some beating, let alone equalling, and has already taken the 2016-17 by the scruff of the neck and given it a darn good shaking.

He has already won the last three premierships and has broken away from the field with six winners to his credit in the first week.

Flushed with success it was Sandown with nine runners, yielding the major prize of the day, the Grand National Hurdle with Zantego, at the other end of the state, Echuca, where he had four runners and settled with a double.

He never inherited two stables, but now has one at Ballarat and the other at Warrnambool, housing 240 horses, or was he handed a silver spoon, he did it all through hard work, there has been no hand outs, he has done it all his way.

Saturday was a busy race day, busier than most with 20 runners, there is a lot of preparation to be arranged long before the team set out from Ballarat to Flemington.

Nothing is left to chance, on race morning all the gear that each horse will be wearing is carefully packed the night before, every member of the staff is conscious of the fact there can be no slipups or mistakes, stable foreman, Jeremy Rogers, makes sure there are no hiccups, or nothing is left behind, you can hardly borrow gear on a racecourse.

That has been pretty well organised, there has been plenty of dress rehearsals, the stable had 75 horses trialling at Donald a few weeks back, that was a test on its own.

Darren Weir was born in the Mallee at Berriwillock, the last watering hole before you reach Sea Lake.

In a good year, when the rains come at the right time of the year, the Mallee can be the most fertile region in the state of Victoria, but can change to the opposite in drought.

Some marvellous horseman have come out of the Mallee, including Curly Burns, the Fisher’s, Jack and Austy Coffey, and the O’Sullivans, however, I would dip my hat to one Darren Weir, the finest horseman we have seen, evidenced on what we saw at Flemington on Saturday.

When Gun Case was giving apprentice jockey Ben Allen a hard time in the mounting yard, until the master trainer came to the fore.

It was no easy task, the gelding was not going to give in easily, nor was Weir, finally the trainer won the battle of strength, leading the horse onto the track.

That is not the first time Weir has been involved in a similar encounter, and he has won each time.

He is the only trainer that constantly compliments his staff at home, each time he is interviewed, after winning a race, he is a popular boss.

Maybe that’s the reason you never see a the sign on the gate. (Vacancies Apply Within)

Darren Weir