Aaron Purcell must feel like quizmaster Eddie McGuire during his first week in charge of the suspended Ciaron Maher stable.
Purcell took over Maher's stable on Tuesday after the latter started a six-month suspension for his part in the controversy surrounding the ownership bona fides of Group I winner Azkadellia.
Purcell added Maher's "80-odd" string team to the 16 he has in work at his own Warrnambool base.
Purcell has spent the week asking questions attempting to learn as much as possible about his new team, which will send four runners to Flemington on Saturday.
"That's all I have done for the last few days. I've been going around with (assistant trainer) Dave Eustace and asking questions, 'why are they doing that?' and that sort of stuff," Purcell said.
"It's probably going to take me a week or two to get the handle of their work regime and take me a bit longer to remember their habits.
"Obviously, the good horses are easier to remember but the younger ones or the lightly-raced ones are going take a bit longer to get a handle on."
The weekend will be Purcell's first in charge of the Caulfield-based team but the trainer will spend a lot of time on the road between Melbourne and Warrnambool over the next six months.
Purcell said he would maintain his own established business, which includes the Blazer Stakes runner Written Era, with the help of "a great team" of a stable foreman and track riders.
But he knows time with his family will be at a premium.
"I'll probably spend the weekend and Monday and Tuesday at Caulfield and I'll probably go back to Warrnambool in the other half of the week and keep coming and going," Purcell said.
"It is going to suck a lot of my time out of my life. They (his wife and two children) are going to try and come to Melbourne with me and spend time there and I'll obviously spend as much time as I can with them at home.
"That's going to be the worst part about it."
Purcell will attempt to notch a Group II win on his first Saturday with his new team when Bons Away competes in the Group II Gilgai Stakes (1200m).
Purcell's maiden Saturday in charge of the big team will start with Lady Bithiah's run in the Listed Maribyrnong Trial Stakes (1000m) but he said he doesn't have enough information to assess the youngster's chances.
"I don't know a lot but the two-year-old only came down from the breakers a couple of weeks ago so nobody knows a lot more than me anyway," Purcell said.
"I watched its trial and watched the horse gallop on Tuesday and had a good look at the horse and I probably know as much as most other people in the stable."
Lady Bithiah has eased from $8.50 to $10 in Sportsbet's market on Melbourne's first two-year-old race of the season.
