When Peter Moody decided to almost halve the size of his racing team he never envisaged he would be Melbourne's leading trainer two years later.Moody has challenged the system with his hands-on approach and come up trumps with his best ever season, ending a dominance by the "big two" stables of David Hayes' Lindsay Park and trainer Lee Freedman that has endured since 1976.Added to Moody's 83 winners to take to the Melbourne premiership were 98 in the country, 192 nationally and six Group One vic

When Peter Moody decided to almost halve the size of his racing team he never envisaged he would be Melbourne's leading trainer two years later.

Moody has challenged the system with his hands-on approach and come up trumps with his best ever season, ending a dominance by the "big two" stables of David Hayes' Lindsay Park and trainer Lee Freedman that has endured since 1976.

Added to Moody's 83 winners to take to the Melbourne premiership were 98 in the country, 192 nationally and six Group One victories for the "bushie" who grew up in the Queensland outback town of Charleville.

As a trainer, Moody cut his teeth on race meetings at Ipswich and the Gold Coast. He relocated to Melbourne after winning his first Group One race, the 2001 Victoria Derby, with Amalfi.

A constant stream of winners followed but two years ago he put a new focus on getting younger horses and concentrating on quality rather than quantity.

His winning strike rate began to fall away when he lost touch with his team as his numbers grew. Staffing numbers were also an issue.

"When I had 45 horses I was getting 80 to 100 winners a year but when I got to 80 and I was getting 150 winners a year we didn't feel any better for it," Moody said at the time.

Moody is not a self promoter and says winning a premiership was never a goal even when he decided to make stable changes.

"We cut our numbers back from about 100 to 66, put the prices up and got a better class of horse to train," Moody said.

"We weren't thinking about winning a premiership at all.

"We were just happy ticking away and the premiership has been a bonus.

"It is a massive thrill."

He modestly tries to put his title win in context and attributes his success to his staff; racing manager Jeff O'Connor, stable foreman Tony Haydon and stable jockeys Luke Nolen, who won his first Melbourne jockeys' premiership, and Linda Meech, who won the country title.

"The premiership is not going to change the way we eat," Moody mused.

He said Hayes and Freedman were still giants of the industry and would rise again.

"Freedy has probably taken a different tack on things chasing Cup horses from Europe while Hayes is in that transition moving from Lindsay Park to Euroa," Moody said.

"This year has been a good opportunity to attack them but you wouldn't expect either of them to lie down."

Moody rebuilt his stable from the bottom up with Blue Diamond Stakes winner Reward For Effort and Golden Slipper Stakes runner up Headway setting the tone for the renaissance last year.

Black Caviar was another rare find along with Wanted and Tickets who also both trained on as three-year-olds alongside headline act and Horse of the Year favourite Typhoon Tracy.

Typhoon Tracy won four Group Ones - the Myer Classic, Orr Stakes, Futurity Stakes, and Queen Of the Turf - while Moody also celebrated elite success with Headway (Coolmore Stud Stakes) and Wanted (Newmarket Handicap).

Heading into this spring, Doubtful Jack is an untapped talent and there is a bunch of unraced two-year-olds.

It augurs well for another premiership assault but Moody says it will only get tougher.

Besides Hayes and Freedman he has huge respect for Mark Kavanagh and Danny O'Brien.

"Kav is no shrinking violet," Moody said.

"He has probably got the biggest team in Melbourne and I think in the next couple of years Danny O'Brien, once he gets his farm and up and running at Geelong along with his Flemington stables, will be a big force."

While Moody says a run of premierships is unlikely, he is excited about the horses he has in the stable.

"We've had nearly 30 individual two year-old winners and outside a couple of those the rest of them I think would win in town (as three-year-olds)," Moody said.

"That is 30 wins in town next year without trying hard.

"You throw in the four-year-olds, and old Tracy (she's five) will be good for a few, and then there is the new lot of two-year-olds coming through which look quite nice as well.

"I wouldn't put it (another premiership) beyond the realms of possibility but it's not an ambition or anything to chase back-to-back premierships.

"But if it happens we will gleefully accept it."