Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Not any more for Gai Waterhouse. The 2013 Melbourne Cup will always be remembered as the breakthrough triumph for Australia’s most charismatic trainer Gai Waterhouse.
Waterhouse was typically ebullient in the aftermath of Fiorente’s gritty Cup victory after the one-time Melbourne Cup runner-up battled with Red Cadeaux down the Flemington straight for top honours.
“It’s a holy grail, it’s the most important staying race we have in the southern hemisphere and it’s nice to have the Cup at Tulloch Lodge,” Waterhouse told the assembled scribes.
“It’s nice to be up there with dad.”
The daughter of famous trainer Tommy Smith freely admitted winning the famous two-mile race now allowed her to ‘tick it off her bucket list’.
“It’s very exciting. I can’t even describe it, but I’m so thrilled for the owners because they bought the horse a year ago and it runs second the first time it goes around in the Melbourne Cup and it comes back and wins the Cup.”
Waterhouse again talked up Melbourne’s spring carnival but, pointedly, did find time to issue a warning about the scarcity of genuine staying races in Australia.
“I love racing and I love being involved with in the and no one does it better than the VRC with the Melbourne Cup, and what a famous race. It’s the race that stops a nation.
“I’ve got to do it again now, haven’t I?”
