White Marlin’s unbeaten run might have ended at Pakenham last Thursday, but that has not dampened Gai Waterhouse ‘s enthusiasm for what the family might achieve in Australia.
In the days following the defeat, the Hall of Fame trainer revealed that she and her training partner Adrian Bott have become further invested in the grey gelding’s family.
Waterhouse recruited White Marlin, a son of Mastercraftsman and the Diktat mare Playwithmyheart, from Europe on the advice of her husband Robbie and later this year will have another member of the family join the stable.
Shortly after White Marlin taught his rivals a lesson over 2800 metres at Flemington on Melbourne Cup Day, Waterhouse’s associates paid 145,000 guineas (AU$289,000) for his younger brother at the Tattersalls December Yearling Sale.
“We saw he was there, we liked him and we said to them (White Marlin’s owners), ‘do you want to be involved?’, and of course they all said yes,” Waterhouse said.
“They’re quite different. Firstly, and the obvious thing is, one’s a chestnut and White Marlin is grey, but they’re both nice and they’ve both got good hip to hock.
“White Marlin has got a fabulous shoulder and big rump, but he’s an older horse now, and he’s a nice big, young horse, his brother.”
Playwithmyheart’s final foal will have big shoes to fill with White Marlin still a leading Melbourne Cup 2023 fancy despite his defeat at the hands of D’Aguilar in the $150,000 William Newton VC Handicap (2000m) at Pakenham, which was transferred from the abandoned Anzac Day meeting at Flemington.
The narrow defeat under jockey Jordan Childs was his first, at start seven, but came after a first-up win in the Group 3 Easter Cup (2100m) at Sandown and Waterhouse remains confident he is on track for the Listed Andrew Ramsden Stakes (2800m).
“I suppose if you were going to be beaten, it’s better to be beaten in the lead-up to the Andrew Ramsden than the Ramsden,” Waterhouse said.
“There were three things I thought went against him.
“I thought that maybe Jordan might have been a little conservative in the middle stages of the race carrying the big weight – there was 6.5 kilos between the winner and him – and he was coming back 100 metres and he’s really training to be a 2600, 2800-metre horse.”
The Andrew Ramsden Stakes, which will be run at Flemington on May 13, carries not only $500,000 in stakes but also a ballot exemption from the Melbourne Cup.