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RacingBetter News |
| Monday 23rd December 2024 | |
Waterhouse Aims a Thinly-Veiled Dig at Mullins
Australian trainer Gai Waterhouse has aimed a less than subtle dig at Irish counterpart Willie Mullins after taking over training duties for talented stayer Vauban.
The Cheltenham Festival and Royal Ascot winner remained in Australia after being purchased by Australian Bloodstock following the 2024 Melbourne Cup.
The six-year-old has had two unsuccessful attempts to win ‘the race that stops the nation’, but Waterhouse and co-trainer Adrian Bott will attempt to make it third time lucky next year.
After the deal for Vauban to stay in Australia was completed, Waterhouse took aim at the way Mullins had prepared the horse for the Melbourne Cup.
“Vauban has an outstanding chance as evidenced by him starting favourite (9/2) last year, and second favourite 7/1 this year,” Waterhouse said.
“Both these Cup starts, he faced difficulties. Firstly, before the two-mile events, he resumed from a 90-day spell and 58-day break - not an optimum Melbourne Cup preparation.
“Forty-six runners since 1991 have tried to resume off such a break, and most well in the betting. Only three-year-old Cross Counter has won - it is easier to resume for young horses.”
“Secondly, emerging from six-weeks quarantine on a strange racecourse can distress some horses. Vauban didn't seem to enjoy Werribee both years.
“He was distressed in 2023 by the heat - he was not used to it and was unclipped. He was continually throwing his head about in the mounting enclosure this year, but was only beaten five lengths.”
Having had their fingers burnt in the last two years, punters who use Australian bookmaker promotions to wager on the Melbourne Cup will keep a close eye on Vauban’s progress in Australia.
Waterhouse is a popular figure in Australian betting circles, although her criticism of Mullins’ training methods undoubtedly left a sour taste.
She became just the second female trainer to win the Melbourne Cup with Fiorente in 2013, but has failed to get her hands on the prestigious prize since then.
Having gone 11 years without adding to her tally, Waterhouse’s comments about Mullins’ handling of Vauban seem ill-advised and uncalled for.
Mullins has enjoyed unprecedented success in the United Kingdom and Ireland and his achievements set him apart from many of his rival trainers.
While Waterhouse’s comments are unlikely to illicit a response from the Closutton handler, they demonstrate a lack of class by the prickly Australian trainer.
Not content with undermining Mullins, the 70-year-old doubled down with further criticism of the way he prepared Vauban for the Melbourne Cup.
“We know that UK raider, Twilight Payment, was well beaten in the 2019 Cup before winning in 2020,” Waterhouse added.
“Trained at Flemington by Adrian and my good self, and away from ‘wearisome Werribee’, I know you will see a different horse on the first Tuesday of November next year. Additionally, we will put a turn-of-foot in his legs.”
Intriguingly, another big-money purchase from UK racing has failed to sparkle since joining the Waterhouse and Bott yard last year.
Balance Play was bought for AU$1.155 million by McKeever Bloodstock, Waterhouse and Bott and was touted as genuine contender for the Melbourne Cup.
He had previously shown high-class form in England, but has struggled to replicate those performances in Australia, finishing no better than fourth in three runs.
Waterhouse boldly claimed she had improved Balance Play since he arrived in her stable, but the on-track evidence suggests the huge financial outlay has been wasted.
Having called out Mullins for his handling of Vauban, Waterhouse has unquestionably placed herself under immense pressure to prove her criticism was justified.
