Take Gooree Stud's latest emerging talent, Power Personified, which is set to debut at Randwick on Saturday. He's the colt Waterhouse took to Melbourne for the Melbourne Cup carnival. The horse did not run down south but the education he was given may give an insight into what makes Waterhouse a champion thoroughbred trainer.

"When I brought [horse whisperer] Monty Roberts out here six years ago, he said we were six years behind America," Waterhouse said last month.

This revelation came on the Wednesday before the Victoria Derby. Waterhouse had completed her trackwork commitments at Flemington and had moved over to the infield barriers, which comprise four starting stalls housed in a chute of 350 metres. Power Personified was being educated.

"He [Roberts] was right," Waterhouse said. "How long does it take to load horses [in Australia]? Sometimes 10 minutes. Then we are running behind race time … it means a loss of revenue. In America everything loads within minutes and they are off."

Waterhouse was talking while observing Bob Duncan go to work on Power Personified. The two-year-old is in a cantankerous mood. It rears up but Duncan has the lead. The latest "horse whisperer" is in control. Power Personified backs up continually, paws at the ground, throws its head about, but Duncan is not in a hurry.

"I worked him in a bridle before we went over to the barriers," Duncan said. "He is a nice colt, behaves good, but when we got him over there [to the barriers] he was a different horse.

"I try not to make it an issue about getting into the barriers. It is about changing their mind, their attitude."

Waterhouse imported Duncan, who spent 45 years with the New York Racing Association, the latter part as head starter. Duncan has been retired from race-day duties for five years but runs a barrier attendant crew out of Saratoga and is at the track every morning.

"I have a crew that is paid by the racing association," Duncan said. "They [trainers] come up and hand the horse to us and they tell us where he is at in his training and we try to make progress with them."

Waterhouse has no doubt Australian race players have plenty to learn. She has lured Duncan to Australia on three separate occasions and even sent members of the Tulloch Lodge team to the US to be taught new methods.

"I've been on to them at Racing NSW about the issue," Waterhouse said. "I've even written to them. A horse was killed at Kembla Grange recently. It went off in the barriers. It shouldn't happen. Why can't we take a leaf out of other people's book? No horse should be injured or die in a barrier accident. We don't want jockeys hurt, either."

Waterhouse then talks about stablehands and barrier attendants being in the line of fire of a horse which goes berserk in the starting stalls.

"In America every single horse goes to the little [training] barriers and they get checked off by the barrier attendant. They get a certificate," Waterhouse said. "You know they have been there; you know they have coped. Then they go to the big barriers and the big barriers are available every day."

Power Personified, which has been fitted with a Dually Halter, finally makes it up to the starting stalls. Duncan leans up against them while Waterhouse explains the halter was "used by the American indians to catch the wild mustangs". She explains the halter taps into pressure points in the horse's head.

Power Personified picks grass under the barriers then bumps its head. It rears up and retreats, Duncan lets it have its way. Another couple of horses arrive for barrier practice. Power Personified is now some 20 metres away from the stalls as they bang open and horses take off. Power Personified fires up.

Slowly but surely Duncan coaxes Power Personified to the gates once again. This time round the horse puts its neck into a stall then jacks up again. Over and over it goes with Duncan reassuring the horse with pats down the forehead, down the shoulder. He talks quietly and never loses his cool.

"We can make them break fast but you don't want them where they go to the barrier and they don't stand well because that will get them into trouble," Duncan said. "We've changed our mindset about it. In the old days we were very linear in our thinking: here is the horse, we are big men, let's get him into the gate.

"But we found if you spend a little more time away from the [race-day] gates, teach the horse to lead and make a connection to the barriers, their attitude changes."

As Duncan put it you "wind up with a calmer horse at the gates" and the advantages are many. Not only is it safer, but there are fewer "explosions with the horse in the gates … a horse will stand there longer while another more difficult horse is being loaded".

"My personal opinion and I can't prove this scientifically, but I think when they go in and stand calmer they breathe deep, they have more reserves in a race," Duncan said. "A nervous horse in the gates breathes shallow, choppy breaths. They may break very well but sometimes they peter out halfway through the race. I like them to go into the gates and have a nice deep, abdominal breath; be relaxed."

Power Personified eventually makes it into the starting stalls. Duncan stands there with the horse before backing out the youngster. This process is repeated about a dozen times and the education session is over for the day. Duncan returns the next morning and Power Personified is led in the stalls and out the front. Over and over it happens. "If we win the Golden Slipper, how much is he worth?" Waterhouse asked. "It will be the cheapest thing we ever do."

May well be the safest, too.