Gai Waterhouse has two big shots at Caulfield on Saturday 14th October

With over 150 Group 1 winners in her illustrious career, Gai Waterhouse more than holds her own as one of the greatest horse racing trainers in Australian history.

Moving into 2023, the appetite for Waterhouse and her co-trainer Adrian Bott is showing no sign of waning and they have plenty of horses that could provide them with even more accolades this year. 

For every owner, trainer, jockey and Aussie bookmaker, the allure of the Melbourne Cup remains the biggest draw in Australian horse racing. Gai Waterhouse has ‘only’ managed to clinch that title once in her 35+ year career, with Fiorente getting the job done in 2013.

Exactly a decade on, Waterhouse remains as dogmatic as ever in her approach to Australian horse racing and she looks set to make a serious assault on the 2023 season, with a plethora of lightening quick horses.

Alligator smelling blood

In any career that spans the decades, peaks and troughs are to be expected and for Gai Waterhouse, one horse in recent years has very much propelled her back into the winner’s enclosure.

Alligator Blood is a prolific Group 1 winner, with triumphs at the Underwood Stakes and the Stradbroke Handicap. Much of the success Alligator Blood has had has come under the stewardship of Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott and they will be hoping it will be able to deliver the goods once more.

First up, is the Might and Power Group 1 contest at Caulfield on Saturday 14th October, a race that is often seen as a strong precursor to the likes of the Cox Plate and the Melbourne Cup.

The big question is whether Alligator Blood can get the job done again but having won over 1800m at Caulfield less than three weeks ago, a push to 2000m shouldn’t be too much of an ask.

Competition will of course be strong, but Alligator Blood has earned connections over $6 million in career prize money, and it is a horse that tends to deliver. 

Competition in the yard is Just Fine

One of the huge strengths of the Waterhouse and Bott operation is their ability to seek out racing talent and nurture it within their yard.

Those attributes can be clearly seen with the English horse Just Fine, which came from royal pedigree to Waterhouse and Bott and it has taken to life in Australia like a duck to water.

Since arriving in Australia, Just Fine has romped home in all three outings, producing speed on demand and it looks to have all the makings of both a Melbourne Cup and Cox Plate contender.

Going up against Alligator Blood in the Might and Power Stakes at Caulfield on 14th October will give Waterhouse a real barometer of where each horse is at, but they are clearly happy to have two of their best horses going at it – which is an ominous sign for the rest of the field.

History to repeat itself in 2023?

Back in 2013, Gai Waterhouse cut an elated figure, as Fiorente finally provided her with her first Melbourne Cup winner as a trainer.

A decade on and following some serious ups and downs along the way, Gai Waterhouse is ready to make another serious assault on the Melbourne Cup in 2023.

The Cox Plate will come first, with both the aforementioned Alligator Blood and Just Fine sure to be in the mix there, Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott have a busy spell of big races ahead of them.

It will of course be the Melbourne Cup at the start of November that creates plenty of betting traction for bookmakers and Gai Waterhouse will be desperate to pick up another title at the infamous Flemington track.

With the likes of Vauban from Willie Mullins and 2022 winner Gold Trip finding form at the right time, it should be an epic encounter and how Gai Waterhouse would love to clinch her second Melbourne Cup triumph.

Three decades at the very top of any sport is sure to take its toll but for legendary Australian trainer Gai Waterhouse, the fire continues to burn within.

With Alligator Blood and Just Fine leading the yard in some of the biggest races on the calendar, Whitehouse and her co-trainer Adrian Bott will be dreaming of another successful campaign in 2023.