The exuberant logic of Gai Waterhouse on the eve of big races is always welcome and often justified.
And her contribution to the debate on Saturday’s Caulfield Cup is typically upbeat.
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Waterhouse will saddle Glencadam Gold, who started favourite in last year’s Cup, and Julienas who scraped into this year’s race on the vote of the Melbourne Racing Club committee.
Both horses are longshots in Saturday’s $2.5 million race – but their trainer is confident both can defy the bookies’ assessment.
Julienas is a vastly underrated $26 chance – but also a winning one.
“He’s your long-shot in the Caulfield Cup, he’s absolutely flying,” Waterhouse said.
“He’s been carrying big weights, he drops to the limit, he’s really got a great chance.”
The MRC and handicapper Greg Carpenter are among those who agree.
When the last spot among the 18 guaranteed starters rested between Julienas and the well-performed English runner Forgotten Voice, they gave the nod to the Waterhouse horse on the strength of his last-start second in the Metropolitan at Randwick.
Waterhouse’s other runner, Glencadam Gold, is at $41, thanks largely to a poor run in the Turnbull Stakes last time out.
But his chances are not reflected in the price.
“He’s been working the place down, can’t fault him,” Waterhouse said.
“Last year he was the favourite and he came from a wide barrier and pulled his head off in front and then ran much better in the Melbourne Cup.
“Now that he’s been around Caulfield he’ll be a lot better. I think he’s very good value.”
Waterhouse’s chances in Melbourne’s other major spring races also went on display when Fiorente worked at Moonee Valley on Thursday.
The runner-up in last year’s Melbourne Cup off a limited preparation, Fiorente has retained the form he has shown in three runs this time in with a strong gallop ahead of Saturday week’s Cox Plate.
Working with recent winner The Great Snowman, the imported galloper looked fit and keen.
He is bound to attract plenty of interest among jockeys looking to replace the suspended Damien Oliver in the Valley showpiece.
Waterhouse said she had been flooded with offers, but indicated Tommy Berry had the inside running.
| Race 10 – 5:45PM BMW Caulfield Cup (2400 METRES) |
|---|
| Of $2,500,000.1st $1,500,000, 2nd $375,000, 3rd $200,000, 4th $110,000, 5th $90,000, 6th $75,000, 7th $75,000, 8th $75,000 GROUP 1 Handicap, Minimum Weight 50.5kg, Weight Raised 1.5kg, Apprentices cannot claim.Field Limit: 18 + 4 EM |
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| No | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Barrier | Weight | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MANIGHAR (FR) | Peter G Moody | Luke Nolen | 11 | 58kg | |||
| 2 | DANDINO (GB) | Marco Botti | Craig Williams | 19 | 56.5kg | |||
| 3 | ETHIOPIA | Pat Carey | Rhys McLeod | 14 | 56.5kg | |||
| 4 | WALDPARK (GER) | Anthony Freedman | Brenton Avdulla | 8 | 56kg | |||
| 5 | GLENCADAM GOLD (IRE) | Gai Waterhouse | Tommy Berry | 6 | 55.5kg | |||
| 6 | MR MOET | Adam Durrant | Hugh Bowman | 10 | 55.5kg | |||
| 7 | FAWKNER | Robert Hickmott | Nicholas Hall | 12 | 55kg | |||
| 8 | JET AWAY (GB) | David Hayes | Damien Oliver | 13 | 55kg | |||
| 9 | KELINNI (IRE) | Chris Waller | Steven Arnold | 1 | 55kg | |||
| 10 | MORIARTY (IRE) | Chris Waller | Craig Newitt | 18 | 55kg | |||
| 11 | MY QUEST FOR PEACE (IRE) | Peter G Moody | Corey Brown | 4 | 55kg | |||
| 12 | HAWKSPUR | Chris Waller | Jim Cassidy | 16 | 54.5kg | |||
| 13 | JULIENAS (IRE) | Gai Waterhouse | Kerrin McEvoy | 15 | 54.5kg | |||
| 14 | MR O’CEIRIN (NZ) | Ciaron Maher | Dwayne Dunn | 20 | 54.5kg | |||
| 15 | SILENT ACHIEVER (NZ) | Roger James | Glen Boss | 5 | 54.5kg | |||
| 16 | ROYAL DESCENT | Chris Waller | Nash Rawiller | 3 | 54kg | |||
| 17 | TUSCAN FIRE | Dan O’Sullivan | Luke Currie | 2 | 53.5kg | |||
| 18 | DEAR DEMI | Clarry Conners | James McDonald | 22 | 53kg | |||
| 19e | FORGOTTEN VOICE (IRE) | Nicky Henderson | Brett Prebble | 7 | 54.5kg | |||
| 20e | SNEAK A PEEK (ITY) | Peter G Moody | 17 | 54kg | ||||
| 21e | IBICENCO (GER) | Peter G Moody | 9 | 54kg | ||||
| 22e | OASIS BLOOM | Peter Morgan & Craig Widdison | 21 | 51.5kg |