Given she’s considered the first lady of Australian racing, trainer Gai Waterhouse is no stranger to winning big feature races.
Waterhouse has won every race imaginable in Australia with her Group 1 tally at 163 and counting, with one of those the 2013 Melbourne Cup.
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12 years ago, Fiorente won the great race under champion jockey Damien Oliver to deliver Waterhouse her first and only Melbourne Cup.
However, it’s clear she’s craving to add another one to her trophy case.
Since 2013, Waterhouse has had several chances in the race that stops the nation without reward.
She was poised to have perhaps her best hope in the race in some time with Sir Delius, who was the Melbourne Cup favourite three weeks ago. However, in some bad fortune though, Sir Delius was ruled out for the rest of the spring after Racing Victoria officials deemed the horse to be a heightened risk of injury.
While a crushing blow, Waterhouse and co-trainer Adrian Bott will have one chance flying the flag for the stable with the pair set to saddle up UK import Vauban.
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If the name rings a bell for the once-a-year punters, there’s a good reason for that.
Vauban has one of the favourites in the previous two Melbourne Cups, running 14th in 2023 and 11th last year.
Previously trained by UK racing legend Willie Mullens, the horse was transferred into the Waterhouse/Bott stable following the 2024 Cup.
For his third tilt at this race, he’s been based and trained in Australia for the 12 months leading in. It’s a factor that will help Vauban.
“He’s got the ability — it’s a matter of him putting his best foot forward,” Waterhouse told the Herald Sun.
“He’s a bit like the girl with a curl — you never know which side of the bed he’s going to get out of.
“He’s unusual for a gelding, he’s got lots of personality and he’s very capable of running a very big race.’’
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