Gai Waterhouse | Gai Waterhouse Gais Tip Sheet

Friday 5th DECEMBER - KENSINGTON

Rail Position: True

LANCELOT DU LAC - Race 1, 1300M, A Hyeronimus 58.5kg

Lancelot Du Lac is delighting Adrian and I ahead of his first start. He has had three trials to prepare him for this run and he's made steady improvement, so we're looking forward to seeing him at the races. The blinkers really switched him on in his latest trial, so he retains them here and they'll ensure he's nice and focused in the run. Giving him three trials has given him a good fitness grounding for the 1300 metres first-up, and he should be able to get into a comfortable rhythm over this distance. He's drawn to do no work in barrier 1, so Adam will land in a forward position where he can make his luck on or close to the speed. He's a horse that'll improve with race experience, but he's had several trials so he doesn't lack any match practice and we're looking forward to him running a bold race for you.

VIRGIL'S GIFT - Race 5, 1400M, R King 58.5kg

Virgil’s Gift has made a very encouraging start to her career and she is delighting us ahead of this assignment. She was impressive when winning on debut at Kembla over 1200 metres, so we then set her a fairly tough task by bringing her into town, but she rose to the occasion and was most unlucky to be nailed late at Rosehill last time. As Rachel said afterwards, she's still learning what it's all about, so she's taken plenty of further improvement from that experience and there's certainly a lot more to come. She's stepping back in trip ever so slightly to 1400 metres, but Kensington's her home track where we have plenty of success and we think it'll suit her racing pattern. She should be able to land in a forward position from barrier 7 to make her own luck on speed, and this will enable her to build into the race at the right time. She is a talented filly with a professional attitude, so with more to come we hope she can get her head back in front for you all here. 

Friday 5th DECEMBER - CANBERRA

Rail Position: +8m Entire

WHACK ATTACK - Race 5, 1300M, L Beuzelin 57.5kg

Whack Attack has been coming along nicely in the lead up to this assignment. He has had two trials this preparation at Randwick, improving from his first to his second, where he travelled strongly and finished close up behind Due North and stablemate Triple Salute. These hit outs have given him a good fitness grounding, so he is ready to go first-up here. In his first race start at Geelong things didn’t quite fall his way, however, that outing gave him valuable race day experience which he can put to good use here. He's resuming over 1300 metres which will enable him to get into a comfortable rhythm, and Canberra is a realistic level for him at this stage. Louis will roll forward from barrier 12 to get him travelling in a handy position, and he has done everything right in his work and trials so we’re looking forward to seeing put in a very competitive performance.

Saturday 6th DECEMBER - BEAUMONT NEWCASTLE

Rail Position: +5m 800m-400m, +2m the Remainder

ITALIAN SPIRIT - Race 3, 1250M, Jean Van Overmeire 57.5kg

Italian Spirit is delighting us ahead of his first career start. He has had two solid trials to prepare him for this run and he took a significant step forward from his first to his second, where you could tell he gained valuable experience as he travelled more professionally, quickened well and went through the line strongly. These two hit outs have given him a solid fitness grounding for 1250 metres first-up, and he’s also had plenty of further experience in the barriers which will stand him in good stead on race day. He's by Pierro and out of a VRC Oaks winner over 2500 metres, so he is a horse who will improve again as he gets over further and we don't expect to see the best of him over this distance. However, Newcastle's an expansive track which will help him, he’s had plenty of education and certainly won't lack for fitness so Adrian and I hope to see him hitting the line strongly to get his career off to an encouraging start.

STATE SECRET - Race 3, 1250M, Zac Wadick 57.5kg

State Secret is delighting us ahead of his first career start. He has had two trials to prepare him for this run and took a good step forward from his first to his second, where the penny really seemed to drop and he travelled more professionally before finding the line strongly. Those two hit outs have given him a solid fitness grounding for 1250 metres first-up, and his recent work at home has been very pleasing. Newcastle is a spacious track with a long home straight, so Zac should be able to let him find his feet early, get him into a comfortable rhythm and then build through his gears down the running. He will improve again with race experience, but he doesn’t lack for education or fitness. Zac is a talented rider at this level and his 1.5kg claim is another bonus, so we’re hopeful he’ll be right there at the finish to get his career off to an exciting start.

Sunday 7th DECEMBER - ROSEHILL GARDENS

Rail Position: 4m

SUPERMASSIVE - Race 5, 1200M, T Clark 56.5kg

Supermassive is delighting Adrian and I ahead of this assignment. He didn't give his rivals a chance when leading throughout for a dominant win at Canterbury last time, and he's taken further improvement from that effort so it’s hard not to be excited about what he might do as he continues to progress. This is a step up in class to a Benchmark 72 on a Saturday, but it's confined to his own age group which is a positive and it's the natural next step after he won so impressively. He showed good tactical speed last time, so Tim will be positive from barrier 4 to try and establish himself in a forward position. He sticks to 1200 metres again here and will no doubt appreciate a bit further in time, but he should be able to handle it and Rosehill's an expansive track which we expect to suit him better than Canterbury. He is in terrific order and comes into this at the top of his game, so we expect him to be very competitive and hope to see him with his nose in front at the winning post.