The following is Gai Waterhouse’s latest blog :
Well I had a busy day Friday with Apollo Ng from Hong Kong, who came to the stables for a look around and to visit some of his horses. He enjoyed a walk around all the yards with Adrian and I acting as tour guides, for this wonderful man, who has become a very successful buyer. Apollo buys horses for himself, clients plus his friends and family; he buys from everywhere and is always on the lookout for a good type at a good price. Our final destination was the equine pool, where the sambos were produced.
Tony and Mario Falcone came to have a sambo and have a look at their horse Proisir (Choisir x Prophet Jewel). This promising colt is trialling on Friday. Proisir has risen to prominence at a rate that I have very rarely seen in my years at Tulloch Lodge; hopefully his meteoric rise to stardom continues and he manages to grab one or even two three-year-old classics this preparation as to increase his stallion prospects.
Mark Newnham was holding the fort at the pool while I was giving the walking tour to Apollo. Oh, and I must mention just how good Sonia’s sambos are; they are just divine. A real treat.
I can’t tell you how good Proisir has come back, Pierro also, but it was Proisir who really knocked my socks off at the pool yesterday. As I mention regularly in this blog, I hate seeing rib on my horses, and Proisir definitely was not showing any rib. He is big and robust and just the most impressive looking colt.
After the pool my next stop was David Jones, where I had a meeting with my stylist Gale. His clothing selections for the lady trainer are just magnificent. He pulls out jackets, shoes, hats, shirts, skirts and they are all wonderful. As an ambassador for David Jones, as is also the case with Emma Freedman, we wear all the latest clothes at the spring and autumn carnivals and the young girls, or mature ladies can see how the clothes look on us before they buy them themselves. It is nice that we can represent two different age groups and with us parading the clothes, all the ladies know exactly where to purchase anything they like the look of. I managed to acquire a red and black tunic dress by Jonathan Saunders as well as some leopard and tweed by Dolce and Gabbana which is certainly an interesting combo. I also must mention the Aquilano Rimondi black silk top that looks great on the Lady Trainer; it has diamante neck panels that really add to the elegance of the top.
After the jump outs James McDonald was smiling from ear to ear after the performance of Blazing Snitzel (Snitzel x Trois Couleurs). This filly will be having her first start since November 2011 very soon.
Exotic Blend (Encosta de Lago x Coffee Shop) as well as being very well named, has continued to impress around the stables. Young Adam Sewell rode this improving filly, and I must say Adam is improving almost as fast as his mount. He certainly knows how to get the horses out of the barrier fast and that is a great skill to have whilst working at Tulloch Lodge.
Aztec Rose (Sebring x Dream the Dream) caught my eye. I have managed to get this filly to drop her energy levels, and she will step out at the next set of trials.
Al Canyon (Al Maher x Bryce Canyon) is getting ready to trial again. Sometimes the most dopey Al Maher’s are the best. This can certainly be said for Fat Al and Al Canyon is not far behind him in the dopey stakes.
Friday is a day where I can talk to the team in peace without much happening at Randwick. I need the jockeys to know not just how I want the horses ridden, but why I want them ridden that way. What is the theory behind the madness? I like to know the jockeys and I are on the same page. TJ was the same, and having a stable jockey (or jockeys) was the key to Dad’s success as it is with mine. The jockeys need to know the Smith / Waterhouse way, and no, it is not just to lead at all costs. After all Dads’ three best horses namely Redcraze, Tulloch and Kingston Town were not leaders. Sure they could lead but they won most of their best races from off the speed. Two of my best ever in Pierro and More Joyous don’t necessarily need to lead either. So it is not all about leading but rather about maintain speed.
