GAI WATERHOUSE: RACING’S ULTIMATE PERFORMER By Ben Sporle Gai Waterhouse compares horse racing to the world of theatre – where all the preparation is done behind curtains and away from the audience while raceday turns into show day. Both stages are one Waterhouse excels on, and with Sir Delius being a top chance in the Ladbrokes Cox Plate – you get the feeling both horse and the First Lady of Racing will be ready for a show-stopping performance. Waterhouse won’t touch the 2026 Ladbrokes Cox Plate trophy out of superstition. It sounds only reasonable after her long pursuit to win Australasia’s Weight-for-Age Championship – the race her father T.J. Smith holds the record for winning seven times. It hasn’t been through a lack of trying – champion horses such as Grand Armee, Desert War, More Joyous, Pierro, Fiorente and Alligator Blood have been amongst those she has saddled up over The Valley’s testing 2040 metre circuit. Six placings from 25 starters in the race have only driven her to add her own W.S. Cox Plate to her father’s enviable collection. “It’s certainly a trophy and a race I would love to win,” Waterhouse emphasises. “When you haven’t won it - we’ve ran places that many times, but timing, especially when it was at Moonee Valley, is essential. “The Cox Plate is one of the jewels in the crown.
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