Five Questions With Gai Waterhouse

March 18, 2022

Ahead of the 66th running of the Longines Golden Slipper, we caught up with seven-time Slipper winner, Gai Waterhouse. Keep reading below to hear her story and to find out what she would be doing if she wasn’t working with thoroughbreds.

1. What is your earliest or favourite memory of horse racing?

Riding on the front of dad’s creamy pony onto the Royal Randwick racetrack\.

2. What is it about the Slipper which has seen you enjoy so much success?

The Longines Golden Slipper is a wonderful race for Australian breeding. It represents everything that we work so hard for. Tough horses, speed, and precocity.

3. Is there a victory that was more special than others?

Rosehill Gardens has been a great racetrack for me over the years. Seven Longines Golden Slippers, The BMW, and Coolmore Classic just to name a few. Royal Randwick is where Adrian Bott and I train from and that is the track that gave me my first Group 1 winner with Te Akau Nick in the Metropolitan.

4. If you weren’t working with thoroughbreds, what do you think you would be doing?

Running the country.

5. If you had one tip for aspiring female trainers, what would it be?

For any trainer, you need to make sure you’ve done the hard yards with another leading trainer. You need to be well trained before you take our your license, and have someone to back you financially as it’s a tough career to choose.

6. Bonus question: If you were a racehorse, what would you be called?

I’m not a racehorse, but I’m a mother and grandmother and they call me GG.

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