Gai Waterhouse believes she has a suitable spot on her mantelpiece for a Cox Plate trophy, which would be a significant honour alongside her existing accolades from the Melbourne Cup, Caulfield Cup, and Golden Slipper.
Waterhouse, in partnership with Adrian Bott, is preparing Sir Delius for his attempt at securing a maiden Cox Plate (2040m) at Flemington this Saturday, with the renowned Moonee Valley track undergoing necessary reconstruction.
“Over 30 years I’ve had a lot of good chances, including Alligator Blood, but it’s a hard race to win,” Waterhouse stated.
“I don’t think about the past, I think of the future and that’s what I’m training the horse to do, but it would be very nice to have.
“I’ve got a spot on the mantlepiece ready for it.”
Sir Delius was notably withdrawn from last year’s Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup following CT scans that indicated an elevated risk of injury. The imported entire made a successful return in the autumn, clinching the Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Randwick when third-up from a spell. He enters Saturday’s Cox Plate campaign in a similar position.
In his two prior starts this preparation, Sir Delius finished fourth at Flemington on both occasions, appearing somewhat below his best. However, Waterhouse remains confident in her charge’s ability to perform at his peak on Saturday.
“He’s not working quite the same as he was last year, but he’s a year older and he’s more mature, but he’s very fit and a happy horse going into the race,” Waterhouse explained.
“He’s only had the two starts for the spring and his second start in the Turnbull, the track was a little bit affected, the speed was on, which it could be again on Saturday, but he came out of it very well.
“I think it’s a very tough race, a race of a lot of depth and every one of the horses deserve to be there.
“It’s a serious race.”
Waterhouse indicated she would monitor any late scratchings before finalising race tactics for Saturday’s event.
However, the trainer expressed a preference against the predicted rain arriving too early on Saturday.
“I always wait until the morning of the race, see if there are any scratchings before deciding on tactics,” Waterhouse commented.
“I like to have the speed maps, I like to talk to Adrian and the jockeys.
“I always talk to the jockeys before the race, to get in my mind, and their mind, what we’re hoping is going to happen, and then everything is taken to chance, the speed, whether it rains, you just don’t know.
“Being in the right place at the right time, it’s all a part of it, and that’s why you hope to have the best jockey and we have with Craig Williams.
“We had rain in the Turnbull and that didn’t go our way.”
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