Triumphant Waller still finds big day heavy going Great run: Pierro. Nothing beats winning but Pierro at Royal Randwick on Saturday was the next thing. Great run, great ride but downed by the circumstances of the Doncaster, emphasising why it's one of the great races in Australia, if not the best. With headquarters undergoing the trials and tribulations of a $160 million facelift, featuring the Theatre Of The Horse, an outdoor arena, in the worst possible weather, death by 1000 whinges was the tone before Pierro, and Nash Rawiller. Mind you, Rawiller earlier was seen at his best for Kelinni (Japan Racing Association Plate) and Royal Descent (Oaks) for Chris Waller, who is confirming his phenomenon status. Waller was walking particularly short, thanks to an ingrown toenail. Parade-ring experts noted he had a cut-away shoe and apparently the farrier had used the rasp on his toe. But Pierro went mountain climbing in the Doncaster. Bristling with the renowned Tulloch Lodge bone-and-muscle, generated these days by Gai Waterhouse, the colt was out to break a weight-carrying record for a three-year-old, 57kg, in the Golden Mile and only another of the same vintage, Sacred Falls, with a 4kg pull and penchant for the wet, proved a trifle too good. Pierro could have been saved for soft kills in weight-for-age races but owner Greg Kolivos is congratulated for tilting at the major handicap. Ironically Tom Berry, a talent developed by Waterhouse, brought her unstuck on Sacred Falls. Only 13,100 attended on Saturday but under the worst possible conditions following the Black Caviar bulge - 24,000-plus - last week in sunshine she overshadowed. The track was a heavy 10 and poured cold water on surface critics. Under the conditions it raced pretty well. The ground close to the fence wasn't a disadvantage. Members were again sour about the yo-yo effect: going backwards and forwards from their seats to the Theatre Of The Horse. Push-and-shove conditions reigned in the betting ring with Mitch Facaris, strapper of Keith's Legacy, winner of the last, having a genuine gripe. "I couldn't get through the crowd to back him," he stressed. Trainers and strappers were also confused about the presentation area in front of the grandstand. Following complaints the previous Saturday the Australian Turf Club moved it from the Theatre Of the Horse. However, chief steward Ray Murrihy had to hold Eminent Domain, after he triumphed in the TAB.com, because of the mix-up. "The horse later kicked a strapper in the dressing-down stalls and the doctor was called," Murrihy said. Being a natural-born horseman, Murrihy was able to handle the situation comfortably. Early conditions were so bad some patrons doubted whether the meeting would continue. But the smile of Neville Voigt, a former jockey, made up for the lack of sunshine after Riocetto won the Fernhill. Voigt trains the two-year-old in partnership with his son, Chris. Voigt rode at a time when jockeys didn't indulge in winning-post choreography and were hard pressed to even crack it for a smile. But Voigt would beam and it was back on Saturday before the group 1s when joy was limited. Sure, the Randwick record was 93,746 when The Diver won the Doncaster in 1948, but the racing wasn't as good as Saturday's. The Diver hardly had the ability of Pierro, but racegoers then were more interested in horses than facilities. Pat Murphy, father of Lindsay Murphy, the ATC racecourse manager, was at Randwick on Doncaster Day 1948 and saw little more than the necks of punters in front of him. "But he remembered it as a terrific day," Murphy said.