Chris Waller: 'I was so emotional I couldn't get any words out - I was wrecked'

At Ascot on Tuesday afternoon, Chris Waller will attempt to do something not seen for ten years. At the same celebrated place last Friday morning, the man who masterminded the career of wondermare Winx did something perhaps unprecedented on any British racecourse.

It is not yet 8am, yet in Waller world the day is already mature. When at home, Australian racing's leading trainer says goodbye to his bed at 2.58am six times a week, keen to ensure none of his staff are asked to work hours he would not confront himself. The Sydney-based New Zealander leads the team but is very much part of it, even here on the other side of the world, where right now he is causing battle-hardened British photographers to believe their own world has been turned briefly upside down.

Nature Strip and Home Affairs have just completed workouts up the last four furlongs of Ascot's sprint course, one to which they will return next week. Not since Black Caviar survived jockey Luke Nolen's late dalliance with danger in 2012 has an Australian-trained horse been successful at the royal meeting. In a bid to bring that run to an end, Nature Strip – the joint second highest-rated horse in the world – will tackle the opening day's King's Stand Stakes, with the Coolmore-owned Home Affairs then set to strut his stuff in Saturday's Platinum Jubilee.