Chris Waller is a man who holds himself to the highest possible standards and as a result it’s no surprise that he’s leading the Sydney Trainers Premiership.

He credits a huge amount of that success to only using the best riders he can so every one of his horses has the best possible chance to win.

Because of this the current period in between winter and spring has caused a few headaches in the Waller camp.

A huge amount of Sydney’s top jockeys are unavailable due to a range of commitments.

Some are riding in Queensland like Corey Brown and Christian Reith, some are riding overseas like Hugh Bowman, and an increasing number seem to be suspended as well like Kerrin McEvoy and Glyn Schofield.

When you take out those which are stable affiliated as well there’s not a lot left who Waller can rely on on race day.

This has created a unique scenario where he’s managed to attract champion rider Damian Oliver to his team for this Saturday at Rosehill Gardens.

While both parties stress it’s a one off arrangement, it certainly looks like a formidable team and one which many punters would no doubt hope to see together more often.

Oliver will be given four rides for Waller including Velrosso, Gogra Gogra, The Verminator and Little Surfer Girl.

He also picks up one extra ride for David Payne with Future Solution.

Waller knows the success of his stable means there would be a long list of jockeys keen to sign on if he were to ever offer an ongoing position with his team.

Regardless of how well Oliver performs on Saturday though he says that neither he nor any other jockey will be considered for such a role because he doesn’t feel he’s ready for such a commitment.

“I don’t think I have matured enough to handle a stable rider,” Waller said.

“Trainers and jockeys can both have bad runs, but if you are both having a bad run at the same time you can be out of form for a long time.

“I don’t think I am a trainer who can deal with that pressure.”