Waller stable dominates as Mister Sea Wolf claims inaugural running of The Gong

That was the message the Chris Waller stable sent on Saturday after Mister Sea Wolf capped a dominant spring carnival for the camp by taking out the inaugural running of The Gong at Kembla Grange.

The victory came after Waller-trained horses dominated throughout the spring, winning the Epsom, Turnbull Stakes, Metropolitan and the Golden Eagle among a range of other group races.

Stable representative Charlie Duckworth said that while many may have expected the wins to tail off following the retirement of Winx in April, Waller had confidence in the talent remaining among his crop.

"He's had an amazing spring," Duckworth said. "I think a few people probably thought we'd have a bit of a lull after Winx.

"Chris has proved that his systems and support from all of our owners that we can continue to be in the headlines and Chris is the name you're reading in the paper on the Sunday morning.

"Whether it's the carnival in Melbourne or The Gong here, we're happy to take part and we're also very happy to win.

"It's a credit to the team at home, we put a lot of work in and got a horse like Mister Sea Wolf home, he's a bit of a stable favourite."

Mister Sea Wolf entered the race with the top weight, the eight-year-old carrying 59 kilograms, many predicting the load would prove too much through the 1600 metres.

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This saw the Mister Sea Wolf drift in the odds, eventually jumping at $21 with the TAB odds.

The gelding defied the doubters, however, with jockey James McDonald helping Mister Sea Wolf hold on to win by a neck ahead of Quackerjack and Waller-stablemate Star of the Seas.

Such was the quality of the inaugural running of The Gong, Mister Sea Wolf set a new track record, eclipsing the mark set by Allez Wonder back in 2009.

Duckworth said that while his horse was forced to carry a heavy weight, he proved why with Saturday's victory.

"There's a reason why he had the top weight, because he was the class horse in the field.

"He was made to carry the weight today and he justified why he had that big weight, we're rapt to win it."

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