Chris Waller will break new ground during Melbourne Cup week when he has his first runner in the VRC Oaks at Flemington.

The champion trainer will saddle The Pearls in the Group 1 staying feature over 2500m for three-year-old fillies on Thursday.

A winner of a Hawkesbury maiden over 1500m on September 25, The Pearls then stepped straight into Stakes company, finishing second in the Gloaming Stakes (1800m) before running third in the Spring Champion Stakes (2000m) at Randwick.

Waller said he kept waiting for a sign to stop, but the filly continued to improve and earn her chance.

“I can’t remember having a runner in the Oaks, unless we had one in the early days as the race comes up quick and it’s a long way, and it doesn’t really suit our style of training,” Waller said.

“But this filly, she has had the right grounding and most importantly she has come through each run really well.

“She came through the Gloaming well, so we ran her in the Spring Champion. She came through the Spring Champion well, so we brought her down here.

“She came through the trip down here well, so we’re running.”

Waller said at any point if the filly had shown she had had enough, she would have gone to the paddock.

“But she’s thriving.”

Waller has prepared 185 Group 1 winners since 1999, including multiple Oaks victories in Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane, notably with Winx in the 2015 Queensland Oaks.

But the VRC Oaks has not traditionally been a priority for the stable.

“Our general style is late two-year-olds and speed early three-year-olds, and later, staying three-year-olds,” Waller said.

“But she is a good filly, big and strong, and tough.”

Waller said barrier 12 of 13 was not ideal, but joked that was now James McDonald’s concern.

If you’re having a bet on the VRC Oaks, compare prices at the Australian betting sites list.