Gai Waterhouse | Gai Waterhouse News 58523 Playing By The Rules

Emma Reeves aids us with programming and identifies who he thinks is the best placed horse each weekend.

Converge, Saturday 18th January, Rosehill Gardens, Race 7:
Having only been back from maternity leave for two days, my heart has led the way on this one while my head continues to catch up. As a three-year-old we penned Converge as a miler due to his blistering turn of foot, his defeat of Anamoe over a mile in the Randwick Guineas and the turning of those tables over 2000 metres in the Rosehill Guineas. While Anamoe was clearly a star, I’m not sure anyone could have predicted the subsequent six Group 1 wins so I wondered what Converge might be like over 2000 metres, and even beyond. The theory was tested in my absence, and he actually placed a couple of times which he hadn’t done in a while. On Saturday he is suitably weighted, which isn’t the case for almost 50% of the acceptors, and it doesn’t look as though there will be too much pace on which will be a huge benefit as I think it could be game over if he gives the favourite a head start, even more so if it’s a very wet track. I do think that the true mudlarks will come to the fore this weekend, but I’ve never been convinced that he doesn’t go in the wet, especially with his slighter stature. I would think this is the weakest field he has met in a long time so I’m hopeful that the cards can fall his way this time.