Gai Waterhouse | Gai Waterhouse News 59215 Waterhouse Bott Stable Tour Lady Of Camelot To Climb Everest

Among the early 2-year-olds impressing Bott is a colt by the stable’s former G1 Golden Slipper hero Farnan, who now resides at Kia Ora Stud. The colt is the second foal from I Am Excited, a daughter of Snitzel who won seven races.

I Am Excited’s victories included the G1 The Galaxy, the G2 Gilgai S., the G2 Victory S., the Listed Fireball S., and the Listed Darby Munro S. Presented by Bell River Thoroughbreds at this year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, the colt was a $1.2 million purchase by Waterhouse and Bott, Kia Ora, the Farnan Partnership, and Mt Hallowell Stud.

“He was a high-profile purchase up on the Gold Coast,” Bott told TTR AusNZ. “He looks like a nice, forward type of colt. He’s done everything right so far and has had a couple of preparations already.

“He has sort of put his hand up pretty early, so he’ll be heading towards the official 2-year-old trials in September.”

Bott also highlighted a filly by Zousain from the Not A Single Doubt mare Benella. She is a three-quarter sister to the G2 Challenge S. winner Villa Verde (Not A Single Doubt) and Doutland, who won the G2 Danehill S. and now stands at Widden Stud in Victoria.

The Zousain filly was presented by Widden Stud and purchased by Gai Waterhouse, Adrian Bott, and Kestrel Thoroughbreds for $160,000. “The Zousain filly we bought out of the Inglis Classic Sale from a mare named Benella looks like a nice, big, strong filly. She’s really gone ahead nicely and looks like she’s coping with everything well.”

Another $1 million colt, purchased by the James Harron Bloodstock Colt Partnership, is also showing the right signs. The son of Zoustar, out of the Foxwedge mare Villami, was purchased from the draft of Segenhoe Stud at this year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

His dam Villami won the Listed Fireball S. and was placed in the G2 Furious S. and the G2 Percy Sykes S. “He’s typical of the horse James (Harron) would select. He’s a nice, athletic, beautifully balanced, strong, forward colt.”

Another to watch is the I Am Invincible colt from the Shamus Award mare Rosina Kojonup, who is a half-sister to the G1 Golden Slipper S. and G1 Moir S. winner She Will Reign (Manhattan Rain).

The colt was a $600,000 purchase by China Horse Club, Newgate, Go Bloodstock, and Trilogy from the draft of Newgate Farm at the 2024 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. “A colt from the Newgate syndicate by I Am Invincible out of Rosina Kojonup just has a really, really great mind.

“He’s very professional and just has a real 2-year-old constitution.”

The final 2-year-old highlighted by Bott is the Exceed And Excel filly, Wangi Wangi. The filly was a $500,000 purchase by Gai Waterhouse, Adrian Bott, and Kestrel Thoroughbreds from the draft of Fernrigg Farm.

Wangi Wangi is from the Reset mare Tragic, who won as a 2-year-old and is closely related to the Group 2 winner Kallos (Medaglia D’Oro {USA}) and the G3 Canonbury S. victor Zethus (Exceed And Excel).

“The Exceed And Excel filly from Tragic was purchased for the Valerie Syndicate from the Magic Millions. She’s been typical of the progeny of Exceed And Excel. We’d expect her to be sort of forward and precocious at this stage, which she is.”

Lady to scale The Everest?

On Monday, Waterhouse and Bott's G1 Golden Slipper S. winner, Lady Of Camelot (Written Tycoon), was impressive in a trial at Randwick, defeating the likes of former The Everest winner Giga Kick (Scissor Kick).

Following the trial, Bott indicated that the daughter of Written Tycoon would likely head to Melbourne for the G1 Moir S. He confirmed the plan with TTR AusNZ, adding, "She will head to the Moir first up. The aim is to try and get her a spot in The Everest.

"All things going well, and if she shows that weight-for-age improvement, she looks like an obvious candidate for the race."

Also stepping out on Monday at Randwick was the exciting colt Storm Boy (Justify {USA}). "He’ll most likely resume in the Run to the Rose or potentially the San Domenico. With the trials shifted, it's a question of whether that changes his first-up run or not.

"Either way, Storm Boy will be going to the Run to the Rose and the Golden Rose. Then I’d say he’ll most likely be on a Caulfield Guineas path following that."

Exciting prospects all round

There is no shortage of talent at Tulloch Lodge, particularly in the 3-year-old ranks. In addition to Lady Of Camelot and Storm Boy, there’s the untapped talent of Mayfair (Fastnet Rock), another colt who also returned in style on Monday morning at Randwick.

“Mayfair was excellent,” Bott said. “He’s a Golden Rose colt. He’ll resume in the San Domenico and go through the Run to the Rose.”

Another promising prospect, though perhaps one for the future, is Dawn Service, a son of Justify (USA). He is the first foal from the three-time Group 1 winner Sunlight (Zoustar). Dawn Service broke his maiden at Hawkesbury and was placed in BM78 company last Saturday.

“We have a good opinion of him. He’s still a little bit raw, still putting it together. We feel he’ll get over further, and he may head down to Melbourne shortly with a view to getting him out in trip. At this stage, he’s probably not quite a Golden Rose horse, so there are probably a few more options down in Victoria for him.”

Speaking of Sunlight, her full sister Clean Energy created an impression in her first preparation. Unbeaten in two runs, including a last-start success in the Listed Bill Carter S., Bott shared the plan for the $2.6 million yearling: “We just gave her a bit of time off in the back end of her Queensland campaign. She’ll be on a Thousand Guineas path, though.”

Prost (Snitzel), a victor of the G3 Canonbury S., also has plenty of options. “He is potentially a Golden Rose colt/Guineas style of horse. He’ll most likely resume in the Run to the Rose. He’s had the one trial, so we’ll see him at the trials again.”

Bott also highlighted Espionage (Zoustar), who won the G3 Breeders’ Plate and the G3 Kindergarten S.: “He’ll probably resume in the Heritage S. He is a Coolmore colt. There’s also the possibility he’s a candidate for The Everest, or if we head to the Coolmore through a more traditional path of a race like the Roman Consul, there are a few roads that lead to the Coolmore.”

With several exciting prospects for the spring, Bott added, “In some races, they will meet, but in fairness, they are all different types and styles of horses, so there are still varying options for a lot of them.”

Tropical back in action

Saturday’s G1 Winx S. will mark the return of Tulloch Lodge’s dual Group 1 winner Tropical Squall (Prized Icon). The 4-year-old was privately sold to Yulong earlier in the month and will debut in the operation’s bottle green silks.

“She will run Saturday in the Winx S. That performance will sort of dictate the campaign, but ultimately, we’d like to see her finishing up in the Golden Eagle.”

Tropical Squall’s Group 1-winning stablemate Just Fine (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) has also been nominated for Saturday, but Bott indicated he’s not committed to running. “Potentially, he’ll run. We hope he’s a Caulfield Cup-style of horse, so that’s where we’ll be trying to get to.”

Pulchritudinous (NZ) (Wrote {Ire}), who won last season’s G1 New Zealand Oaks, joined the Waterhouse and Bott stable last season. “She’s only just come back into work. She had a good spell off the back of that last campaign, so we’re probably going to see her at the back end of the Melbourne Carnival.”

New Endeavour (Ire) (New Bay {GB}), who was placed in the G1 Doomben Cup at his latest run, may be aimed at the Five Diamonds. Bott indicated that “he may stay in Sydney and run through races heading towards the Five Diamonds. The conditions of that event might be sort of too hard to ignore.”

Military Mission (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), a multiple Group 2 winner, “could be a Caulfield Cup style of horse,” Bott shared. “He’s been a very good, very consistent horse for us.”

Bott also highlighted Eliyass (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}), a 6-year-old who has won seven of his nine starts. “He’s resuming on Saturday in the G3 Premier’s Cup, and he’s a Metropolitan-style of horse.”