Gai Waterhouse

Former Willie Mullins trainee Vauban (Fr) (Galiway {GB}) made the best possible start to his Southern Hemisphere career, eking out a narrow victory in the 2000-metre G3 Sky High Stakes at Rosehill on Saturday. The chestnut defeated Arapaho (Fr) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) (video). Now trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott for Australian Bloodstock after a reported A$2 million sale, the gelding was a two-time G1 Melbourne Cup starter for Mullins. Bott was happy with the effort and Vauban is expected to point toward the G1 Tancred Stakes, which...

High-class dual-purpose performer Vauban (Fr) (Galiway {GB}), who landed the Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in 2022 for trainer Willie Mullins, is close to making his debut for Australian trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott.  Vauban has been well-held in his two attempts at winning the Melbourne Cup for Mullins and owner Rich Ricci. The seven-year-old was snapped up by the Waterhouse and Bott combination for a reported $2 million after he finished 11th--beaten just over five lengths--behind Knight's Choice (Aus) (Extreme Choice {Aus}) in the Melbourne Cup in...

The progressive My Wish (Aus) (Flying Artie {Aus}) sat a trip handy to the pace, took over with 200 metres left to run and held off a rails rally from the outposted Divano (Aus) (Brave Smash {Jpn}) to take out the first leg of the 4-year-old Classic series in Hong Kong, the HK$13-million Hong Kong Classic Mile on Friday's Chinese New Year program at Sha Tin. It was a first feature win in the ultra-competitive environment for Australian ex-pat trainer Mark Newnham in his second season and for South Africa's...

This year's G2 Lonsdale Cup winner Vauban (Fr) is set to continue his racing career in Australia, having been purchased by Australian Bloodstock, in partnership with Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, for a rumoured fee of around A$2 million (€1.23 million). The news was confirmed by Australian Bloodstock's Jamie Lovett on Wednesday. Previously trained by Willie Mullins, Vauban had been expected to return to Ireland in preparation for a tilt at the G1 Stayers' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, the scene of his first major success for Mullins and owner...

Storm Boy (Aus), a Group 2 winner and Group 1-placed when trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, is set to join Aidan O'Brien at Ballydoyle ahead of a European campaign in 2025, Coolmore Australia announced on Tuesday. The son of Justify is the winner of five of his 10 career starts and was bought by Coolmore and a group of their friends and clients for an undisclosed sum after he made it three from three with his victory in the Listed Magic Millions 2YO Classic back in January. On...

With over 100 horses boasting Timeform ratings of 100 or greater in a catalogue that includes high-quality drafts from Coolmore, Juddmonte and Shadwell, is it any wonder that buyers flock from all over the world to get in on the action at the Tattersalls Autumn Horses-In-Training Sale? If there is one jurisdiction that has flexed its buying power more than any other at this sale in recent years it's Australia. And it's easy to see why. In the past decade alone, 13 Group 1 races have been won Down Under...

The G1 July Cup winner Mill Stream (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) will bid to maintain his unblemished Deauville record when he returns to the Normandy seaside for a crack at the G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest on August 4. "He loves travelling so there are no worries there," says his trainer Jane Chapple-Hyam, who has once again demonstrated her skills in guiding the four-year-old through the grades to the very top. He is currently the co-highest-rated sprinter in Europe with a Timeform mark of 122, and it was at this time...

There was an international flavor to the top lot through the ring on Friday's fourth session of the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale in Australia, with Gai Waterhouse, Adrian Bott and Bruce Slade's Kestrel Thoroughbreds teaming up with Jes Sikura of Hill 'n' Dale Farm and William Johnson Bloodstock (FBAA) to secure a filly by I Am Invincible (Aus) for AU$1.7 million (US$1,140,479), as reported by The Thoroughbred Report. The purchase represents the first foray into the Australian market for Hill 'n' Dale. The farm's Jes Sikura was one...

Lope De Vega (Ire) (Shamardal) and New Bay (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) will be available to cover on Southern Hemisphere time this year, Ballylinch Stud's Eoin Fives told TTR AusNZ. They will stand for €60,000 (AU$98,957) and €40,000 (AU$65,971) respectively. In total, Lope De Vega has sired 18 Group 1 winners and 112 individual stakes winners across 12 different countries. From 2011 to 2014, he shuttled to the now-defunct Patinack Farm, and left an indelible stamp on the Australian industry. The result was four elite-level winners of nine Group 1s; Santa...

By Emma Berry and Brian Sheerin "Everyone who is anyone" assembled at Kensington Palace ahead of one of the great weeks in world racing, and Goffs will be hoping that the star of its London Sale on Monday night will go on to be one of the stars of Tuesday afternoon at Royal Ascot. The G3 Marble Hill S. winner Givemethebeatboys (Ire) (Bungle Inthejungle {GB}) led allcomers when sold for £1,100,000 to Con and Neil Sands of Bronsan Racing. He will remain in training with Jessica Harrington and heads almost...

Four-time Group 1 winner Alcohol Free (Ire) (No Nay Never), who topped the Tattersalls December Mares Sale on Tuesday evening when selling for 5,400,000gns to Yuesheng Zhang's Yulong Investments, will be trained in Australia by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott. Yulong's chief operating officer Sam Fairgray confirmed to TDNAusNZ on Wednesday that the 4-year-old, formerly trained by Andrew Balding and a Group 1 winner at two, three and four, will potentially be aimed towards the A$15-million The Everest. He said, "If everything fell into place she would definitely take her...

James Harron is one of the most respected operators of his craft internationally. Based in Australia, the native of Northern Ireland credits Gai Waterhouse, agent George Smith and Winx (Aus)'s breeder John Camilleri of Fairway Thoroughbreds as being some of the key influences in his career.    Foxwedge (Aus) is the horse who got the ball rolling for Harron Down Under. He sourced the high-class sprinter-turned-stallion as a yearling and, from there, refined the art of making stallions on a commercial level through colt partnerships.    It's a little under...