Chris Waller edged towards a Sydney racing record at Warwick Farm on Wednesday, only to have his latest bid partly thwarted by a trainer with a budget to match the size of his small horse.

Waller went into the midweek meeting needing three winners to break the mark of 156 metropolitan victories in a single season held by champion trainer T J Smith and his daughter Gai Waterhouse.

And he appeared set to make a winning start when Madam Nash held a clear lead in the Become An ATC Sponsor Handicap before she was denied by Minh Khai, an unfashionable but in-form racemare.

Minh Khai is prepared by John Steinmetz, a trainer who has more runners in the bush than he does in the city.

His operation pales in comparison to the numbers Waller has at his disposal, hence a reluctance to offer an apology to the two-time premier trainer for making him wait longer for the record.

"Someone said at the pub last night Chris has had 32 runners since his last winner," Steinmetz said. "It would take me 32 weeks to have 32 runners.

"I usually have more runners on tracks like Port Macquarie than I do in the city so I'll take it.

"Besides, I don't think Chris will have to wait too long to get the record."

Sent out the $3.80 favourite, Minh Khai surged late under her light weight for apprentice Lester Grace to beat Madam Nash ($8) by three quarters of a length.

It was her stature - or more appropriately her lack of it - which convinced Steinmetz to part with $12,000 to buy her at a Melbourne yearling sale.

"She was too small to be attractive to most trainers but that's why I liked her because I don't have the money to buy the big horses," he said.

Waller finally broke his run of outs when Clever Boy scored a narrow win in the Hyland Race Colours Handicap.

But what looked like being a regulation win turned into a struggle as Clever Boy, the $5 favourite, just held off the fast-finishing Lansdowne Road ($10) to score by a short head.

"He thought the job was done," winning jockey Nash Rawiller told Waller.

Unlike his horse, Waller says he never takes anything for granted in the racing business.

"The last few weeks just shows it's not easy getting to these numbers and we don't take it lightly," he said.

Waller will go into Saturday's Rosehill meeting needing a single win to break the Sydney training record after Another Lovechild took out the Warwick Farm Handicap (1100m).

The victory gave Rawiller three winners on Wednesday's seven-race card.