Darren Weir is hardly your political animal, especially when it comes to the messy disruptive nature of racing officialdom and their views to future prosperity of the industry or otherwise.

Yet as its biggest and most winning racehorse trainer, Weir’s thoughts should not only be respected and aired (just as anyone has the right too), but gives a rare insight in the always ticking over mind of the master builder and tactician.

So as New South Wales Major General Peter V’landys lobs unreturned grenades at Victoria over the Mexican Wall at the Murray River, social media went wild last week discussing the merits (or otherwise) of what was going on and playing out.

What does Weir think?

“One thing I would change if I were running racing is make all states communicate together,” he said.

There’s a fairly simple, straight forward, common-sense message, (he’s a fairly simple, straight forward, common-sense kind of guy) but hang on – we are talking racing, and sadly Weiry isn’t training the unbeaten beast called Self Interest.

“I think racing is going very well but don’t you want the best horses and the best jockeys racing for the best prizemoney being available for the best group 1 races on any given day?”

The question should be rhetorical. Take heed Randwick-Australia Guineas programmers as he said “there should not be a G1 3YO mile race on in Melbourne the same day as a group1 3YO Mile race in Sydney.”

It can be blamed on aggressive or ill-considered autumn programming or just the way the moon and the stars of Easter fall (they will be a week apart for next year) before re-colliding again. Duh!

Weir takes a fairly simplistic view – that’s not to say he is being simple, just thinking aloud, as he is well allowed too.

“The spring carnival in Melbourne, that’s the best carnival in the world, so what,  something has to be the best, Sydney can be the second best, but you need the good horses at every carnival,” he said.

“The public want to see the best pool of horses available for every feature race don’t they?”

“If you have a Black Heart Bart, you want the public to be able to see them in every feature race throughout the year that they are available to run in and that’s how it should be designed.”

So without a contender for the $10m The Everest Weir’s thoughts are not surprisingly expected.

“It’s fine as a race, a $10m race, but not on the day it is on.”

Weir has already eclipsed his own remarkable mark this season with more than 440 winners, almost a staggering 100 more than the previous record breaking season, which of course was 50 more than the year before that and 40 from the year before that. And that is some “improvement” or achievement.

But rather than getting tied up in the periphery of matters he has no control over, Weir is already planning for more expansion, yes he will get bigger, via the major redevelopment of his recently purchased Trevenson Park property at Maldon about an hour from his bulging Ballarat base.

“It’s the final piece of the jigsaw puzzle for me,” Weir exclusively told www.justracing.com.au.

It is where Weir spends four to five afternoons a week, planning and preparing its redevelopment from what was an iconic showcase thoroughbred property to whatever way his steel trap mind thinks he can improve and bring the best out of a horse.

“I will be able to spell, pre-train and train from there, at the moment we are in the building phase,” said Weir.

Which means quite staggeringly Weir will be able to have 120 horses in work at Ballarat, 55 at Warrnambool and 50 at Maldon, or well over 200 horses in work all the time.

“That will be me done then,” he says though those close to Weir know – and his form card says – he never stop building and growing.  It might not make economic bottom line sense at the time – ask accountant Mick Leonard, but there is no stopping the Weir drive.

“We’ve started the fencing and fixed it up how I want it, its cost a fortune, but it is worth it. I can see a horse like Gallic Chieftan freshening up in the pastures there, he can go on the water walker five days a week and have the weekend off and keep his fitness up”.

The plan is to keep the investment going in Warrnambool, despite the issue and restrictions on the dunes, and access to them as part of the training tool that has delivered Weir so much of his top end success.

“Jarrod (McLean) can run that, it works well, and that training centre is just about done,” Weir said.

“But I can see me getting to the stage at the farm that I live there and run Ballarat from there across a team of foreman who all know the systems and what I expect.

“They can work 5am to 10am and the farm 10am to 5pm. There is no time off, I’ve tried to take holidays, gone away and come back in a few days,” he said.

When Weir started training his ambition was simple, a Stawell Cup (tick), Ballarat Cup (tick), Swan Hill Cup (tick) and a Melbourne Cup (tick).

“Where we need to be now is winning Group 1 two-year-old races and that has been a focus shift and we have been lucky to attract new clients that will give us our chances in those races,” he said.

Of the older team, Humidor is Weir’s #1 seed for the Caulfield Cup and the top end game, but rest assured, there will be no rest in desire to achieve greater than the great already done.

By Bruce Clark