Gai Waterhouse | Gai Waterhouse Gais Tip Sheet

WEDNESDAY 14th JANUARY - KENSINGTON

Rail Position: +3m 1600m-W/Post, +1m Remainder

FARFETCHED - Race 1, 2.20pm, 1000m, T Clark, 55kg
Farfetched is thriving ahead of her first career start. Her two trials this preparation have been excellent, and she showed a terrific attitude to pin her ears back and stick her neck out gamely when winning her most recent one before the turn of the year. She’s continued to improve since then, and she couldn’t be delighting us more ahead of this outing. She’s drawn to do no work in barrier 1, but this can turn from a blessing to a curse if she doesn’t jump on terms as the other runners will cross her and result in her being shuffled back in the field. However, she’s shown plenty of dash in her trials so we expect her to jump smartly and roll forward to put herself on the speed and make her own luck from there. 1000 metres will be as short as she wants it, so she will improve as she gets out in trip deeper into her preparation. However, this is a lovely starting point for her against her own age group on her home track, and with even luck in running we hope to see her fighting out the finish to get her career off to an exciting start.

SAYTARA - Race 2, 2.55pm, 1400m, R King, 55.5kg
Saytara resumed with a very creditable effort when finishing fourth at Canterbury. She just seemed to peak on her run late, but she wasn’t beaten far at all and it was an encouraging performance. She’s taken plenty of improvement from the outing, and she strips fitter and tighter in condition ahead of this contest. The step up to 1400 metres is going to suit her enormously as she’s always shaped like a filly who’ll appreciate getting out to this trip. Rachel will let her land where she’s comfortable from barrier 8, and the slightly steadier tempo of this longer race should enable her to travel in her comfort zone in the run. The return to a more expansive track with a longer home straight will also play to her strengths, and we think she’s got the upside to make her presence known and give this a good shake in the run to the line.

DOUBLE VISION - Race 3, 3.30pm, 1150m, T Clark, 57kg
Double Vision is delighting us ahead of her first career start. Her two winning trials have been faultless, and there’s so much to like about how she goes about her job so we’re incredibly excited to see her at the races. 1150 metres is a lovely starting point for her, and she’s a long-striding mare so the track at Kensington will suit her to a tee. Tim will be positive from barrier 6, but we expect her to do as she did in her trials and show plenty of early speed to put herself on the pace and make her own luck from there. She’s debuting in a hot enough race and she’s conceding experience to her key rivals, however she’s shown us plenty of ability in her trials so we don’t think this is an unrealistic target and we see no reason why she won’t be fighting out the finish.

ALBANY ROAD - Race 5, 4.40pm, 1100m, R Bayliss, 56.5kg
Albany Road is in great shape ahead of his first-up run. His two trials have been good, and they’ve given him the right fitness foundation to kick off his preparation. He took a few runs to hit his straps last time in, breaking his maiden third-up over 1175 metres at Grafton, but hopefully he just needed the experience of a few runs to learn what it is all about. He’s been gelded since then and he’s returned a more mature horse, so hopefully he can take this to the races and go through his grades. This isn’t an easy race to kick off in, however it’s on his home track, is restricted to three- and four-year-olds and it’s over the right distance so it ticks plenty of boxes. Regan will be positive from barrier 7 to try and land in a forward position where he can make his own luck on or close to the speed, so if he settles nicely and conserves energy mid-race we hope to see him give a strong kick and be fighting out the finish to get his campaign off to an exciting start.

THURSDAY 15th JANUARY - BEAUMONT NEWCASTLE

Rail Position: True

SIEBERT - Race 7, 5.35pm, 1350m, R Bayliss, 59kg
Siebert has done everything right this preparation and comes into this with an unblemished record of two wins from two starts. You mustn’t underestimate how difficult it is for three-year-old fillies to beat older mares at any level, so to see her beat several of them with such dominance at Gosford last time was most pleasing. She’s continued to thrive since then and she’s coming into this in fantastic shape, so Adrian and I couldn’t be happier with her. She’s going to relish the step up to 1350 metres, and she returns to the track she won at on debut so we know she goes well here which adds further confidence. Regan has developed a terrific association with her, so he’ll let her land where she’s comfortable from barrier 8 and hopefully she can enjoy a smooth run in transit and get the luck where she needs it. She needs to keep improving to win here, but we think she’s capable of doing just that so we expect her to be very hard to beat.