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Darren Weir’s hopes of an unlikely win over Chris Waller in the race to be Australia’s leading Group One trainer this season could hinge on results at Doomben on Saturday.

Waller won his 11th G1 race for the season last Saturday when Comin' Through beat stablemate Egg Tart in the Doomben Cup, giving him a vital two win lead over Weir.

Weir had closed to one win behind Waller with his G1 double at the Adelaide carnival where he won the SA Oaks and SA Derby with Sopressa and Leicester.

He now has only six chances to at least draw equal Waller on the G1 standings.

The last six G1 races of the season will be run in Brisbane over the next month, starting with Saturday’s Kingsford Smith Cup and Queensland Oaks.

The Stradbroke Handicap, Queensland Derby and JJ Atkins follow at Doomben on June 9 before the Tatts Tiara at Doomben on June 23 winds up the G1 season.

Waller has been Australia’s leading Group One trainer for the last five seasons, reaching a record high of 15 G1 wins in 2015-16.

However Weir has steadily threatened Waller with his growing G1 success over the last four seasons.

He failed by just one victory last season when he trained a career best eight G1 winners, one less than Waller, and has gone to a new high this season with his nine major wins.

If it had not been for Waller’s champion mare Winx, with her six G1 wins last season and six again this term, Weir would certainly be wearing the crown as champion G1 trainer.

Waller is expected to have multiple runners in all six remaining G1 events of the current season. Weir has indicated he will try and match Waller in most of the races.

However Waller holds the upper hand in Saturday’s $500,000 Queensland Oaks (2200m) where he has eight of the remaining 20 first acceptors including the favourites Youngstar and Another Dollar while Weir does not have an entry.

Their battleground on Saturday will be the $700,000 Kingsford Smith Cup (1350m) where Weir has nine entries to Waller’s four.

Weir’s confirmed runners in the Kingsford Smith include the multiple G1 winner Lucky Hussler, who will be tackling the race first-up since he finished sixth in the Magic Millions Cup (1400m) at the Gold Coast in January.

Doomben has been one of Lucky Hussler’s favourite tracks, the 8YO wining his maiden at the course in 2012 and recording Group wins in the G3 Vo Rogue Plate and G3 George Moore Stakes in later seasons.

Weir’s other Kingsford Cup entries are the Japanese import Danon Liberty, Quilista, Ulmann, First Among Equals, Voodoo Lad, Holy Blade, Whispering Brook and Stellar Collision.

Waller’s four entries are Cellarman, Endless Drama, Foxplay and Shillelagh.

2017-18 GROUP ONE WINS – Waller v Weir

CHRIS WALLER (11): Comin' Through (Doomben Cup); D'argento (Rosehill Guineas); Shillelagh (Kennedy Mile); Unforgotten (ATC Australian Oaks); Who Shot Thebarman (Sydney Cup); Winx (Chipping Norton Stakes); Winx (Colgate Optic White Stakes); Winx (Queen Elizabeth Stakes); Winx (Turnbull Stakes); Winx (George Ryder Stakes; Winx (WS Cox Plate).

DARREN WEIR (9): Brave Smash (Futurity Stakes); Gailo Chop (Caulfield Stakes); Gailo Chop (Ranvet Stakes); Hellbent (William Reid Stakes); Humidor (Makybe Diva Stakes; Leicester (South Australian Derby); Sopressa (Schweppes Australasian Oaks); Tosen Stardom (Emirates Stakes); Tosen Stardom (Toorak Handicap).