‘Give us some sort of reward’: Waterhouse’s Melbourne Cup prediction
Legendary trainer Gai Waterhouse has given her predictions on Australia’s most famous race.
Gai Waterhouse believes this year’s Melbourne Cup shapes as the toughest in memory, as evergreen veteran Vauban spearheads what the legendary trainer hopes will be a two-pronged attack on Australia’s most famous race.
Waterhouse and Adrian Bott will saddle Vauban for his fourth Cup attempt at Flemington next Tuesday, while The Euphrates is seeking to secure his place through Wednesday’s Group 3 Bendigo Cup (2400m).
The Waterhouse-Bott Cup team will be dwarfed by those of red-hot local master Ciaron Maher and Ireland’s Joseph O’Brien, who could end up with more than half the final field of 24 between them.
The pair have a stranglehold on the betting market, with Maher’s Point Of Law a $6 favourite after his Geelong Cup win.
O’Brien’s Trutyourinstinct ($8) is on the second line of betting ahead of stablemate Defiantly, who sits alongside Maher pair Shockletz and Saint George at $11.
“It’s as tough a Melbourne Cup as we’ve come across,” Waterhouse said.
“The weight, and the depth and the meat in the race is unbelievable.
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“Joseph brought seven horses over, Ciaron’s on fire, Chris (Waller) is always a force to be reckoned with.
“There are so many European horses – it’s such a good race. It’s the best group of horses I’ve seen in a long, long time.
“If we knock them off, they’ll have to give us some sort of reward.”
Despite the Cup field being set to be dominated by the powerful larger stables, Waterhouse pointed to the 2024 triumph by 80-1 outsider Knight’s Choice as proof there is still scope for a “battler” to triumph.
“You see it time and time again. That’s the lovely thing about the race,” Waterhouse said.
“Sheila (Laxon) brings a horse only two years ago … no one expected him with his breeding.
“But he was born in the right place and Sheila knows how to do it. That was her second Melbourne Cup.
“And what about the young Robbie Dolan riding it? That’s what makes it so magical.”
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Waterhouse, who won the 2013 Melbourne Cup with Fiorente, is hopeful Vauban can finally deliver in his fourth attempt at the race that stops a nation.
The nine-year-old gelding contested the Cup twice for legendary Irish trainer Willie Mullins, running 14th as favourite in 2023, and 11th the year after.
Transferred to Sydney-based Waterhouse-Bott, he finished a solid sixth last year.
“I love this gelding, I really do, and he’s got a real fan club,” Waterhouse said.
“He’s travelled all over the world, he’s been a champion jumper, champion racehorse in England, and now he’s come down to Oz and we’ve probably never seen the best of him.
“But he’s really, really going super – and he’s happy. He’ll be going in with only one run under his belt, which is a bit unorthodox, but you know, why not roll the dice a different way.”
The Euphrates sits just outside the cut line in 25th on the order of entry for the Melbourne Cup, with a win at Bendigo almost certain to satisfy qualification criteria to clinch a start.
Waterhouse believes the six-year-old son of Frankel can bounce back in Bendigo after he finished unplaced in last week’s Geelong Cup (2400m), having led for most of the race.
“He’s a lovely type of horse, very good-looking, and has got a great stride,” Waterhouse said.
“He’s very light on his feet, he’s got terrific cruising speed and he’ll be 25-1 (for the Melbourne Cup), so why wouldn’t you want him to be in it?”
The Euphrates is a 60kg topweight for the Bendigo Cup and is rated an $8.50 chance with Jett Stanley on board, behind the Ciaron Maher-trained Kings Valley ($3.20), Bjorn Baker’s So You Are ($4.40) and Danny O’Brien’s Litzdeel ($7).
-with AAP
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