The question was simple enough: what is the view like from up there after passing a great in John Hawkes for a modern-day record for most group 1 wins in a season?
The response suggested Chris Waller is still trying to comprehend his ever-expanding place in Australian racing history.
"I still do [look up to the likes of Hawkes] and that won't change," Waller said.
Yet these days it is Waller who everyone else is craning their neck just to see.
Favourite Winx's Queensland Oaks win – one of the most dominant at the top level in recent memory after being hammered into odds-on favouritism – chalked up Waller's 13th group 1 win for the season.
And there could be more to come with good chances in all three group 1s on Stradbroke Handicap day next Saturday — and the Tatts Tiara on the Gold Coast a fortnight after that.
But his reach across the racing landscape could be best analysed by the fact that 12 individual horses have contributed to the 13 group 1 victories.
Only Royal Ascot-bound Brazen Beau has managed to win multiple majors for Waller.
"It makes you very proud," Waller said. "It means you're training for a lot of owners so we're very proud of that. [But] a good horse makes things look easy. It makes trainers look good and jockeys look good."
Winx certainly did that. The result wasn't just poignant for Australia's leading trainer, who edged past Hawkes' feat of 12 group 1 wins in season 2002-03, but there was also a fair bit of sentiment attached for Hugh Bowman.
The Sydney premiership contender lifted his own tally this season to nine, peeling Winx to the outside in the straight and dashing clear to win by 3 lengths from Ungrateful Ellen.
Peter Moody's Imperial Lass, a pick-up ride for Blake Shinn after Bohemian Lily's scratching on race eve, battled on for third.
But many would argue the ice-cool Bowman would not have had an easier — or emotional — big race success.
"My first group 1 was on this course and distance in the Doomben Cup with Defier for Guy Walter," Bowman said. "It means a great deal to me and I have fond memories of that and he was a great friend.
"Ten [group 1s for the season] would be good and you set goals, but realistically a lot of these things are out of your control and you go about doing the best you can with the opportunities you've got. I've had a great season."
And so has Winx. The filly was around the mark in the three-year-old sprints and middle-distance races during the spring and was second in the Australian Oaks last month.
Yet Waller was quick to pour cold water on the prospect of a tilt at the Queensland Derby next week, preferring to set his sights on the Myer Classic over 1600 metres in the spring.
"She owes us nothing," he said. "She's been there since the start of the season and she ran second in the Flight Stakes and she ran a second on a very heavy track in the Australian Oaks. I think this is a bit of a bonus as it is.
"To take the extra step and run in the Derby ... she's got nothing to prove. It won't add to her value, but winning a race like the Myer in the spring might.
"When you've got that bit of class and turn of foot ... it doesn't matter where you draw, they can overcome things. It helps when you've got the extra gear or two," Waller said.
Winx's triumph was hailed in all different manners.
Magic Bloodstock's Peter Tighe beamed with pride, another part-owner Debbie Kepitis, a daughter of Waller's loyal stable client Bob Ingham, let out her trademark "woohoos" after her third top level success.
And 84-year-old Richard Treweeke was no doubt screaming at the television at home in support of his maiden group 1 after more than 55 years of racing horses.
