Gai’s Camelot fantasy

Filly tackles race Waterhouse would ‘love to tick off’

First lady of Australian racing Gai Waterhouse wants her own “lucky charm” to go with an inherited gem of Blue Diamond success.

Waterhouse holds dear a bespoke diamond ring her father Tommy Smith – a threetime Blue Diamond winning trainer – received in 1986 after Bounding Away saluted.

Smith also won Blue Diamonds with John’s Hopes (1972) and Blazing Saddles (1977).

The Group 1 Blue Diamond – Melbourne’s premier race for two-year-olds – is arguably the biggest prize outside of the Cox Plate to elude 158-time Group 1 winner Waterhouse.

Despite a record seven Golden Slipper wins since 2001, Waterhouse has struggled in the Blue Diamond, although with limited opportunities.

Wager (2004) and No Looking Back (2012) finished second in respective editions.

She has saddled two unplaced Blue Diamond starters in the past five years.

“It’s one I’d love to tick off on,” Waterhouse said. “I maybe haven’t sent down quite the right horse. We have run second in it a couple of times but never won it, hopefully this might be it.”

Waterhouse, who trains in partnership with Adrian Bott, has $6.50 equal third favourite

Lady Of Camelot in the Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) on

Saturday at Caulfield.

Coleman remains a firm $4.20 favourite with TAB from Bodyguard ($5.50) in the $2m feature.

Prizemoney and prestige aside, winning connections receive blue diamond-encrusted cufflinks (trainer and jockey) and a necklace (owner).

Waterhouse has dominated two-year-old racing this season with 17 wins from 49 starters. The haul includes the Magic Millions Classic with Golden Slipper favourite Storm Boy, Shangri La Express (Golden Gift), Fully Lit (Inglis Millennium), Prost (Canonbury Stakes) and Espionage (Breeders Plate).

Lady Of Camelot’s last run was a win in the Group 3 Widden Stakes first-up at Rosehill.

“It was a hard decision (Blue Diamond or wait for Golden Slipper) to make but we spoke long and hard with the owner, Sir Owen Glenn, we just felt she would be very well placed here,” Waterhouse said.

“She’s got great speed, a very cruisy filly, she ran fabulous times when she won her race the other day. She’s a very smart filly.

“You really have to play two-year-olds day by day. I often say to people, ‘They’re a bit like boiling an egg, you can turn up the heat a little bit too much and they’re overcooked or you can turn it down and they’re a bit soft and runny.’”