Gai Waterhouse confessed it had been a case of “love at first sight” when she was introduced a few months ago to her newest Melbourne Cup prospect, Fiorente.
And when she saw the horse for the second time at the Werribee quarantine centre on Wednesday, she made it clear her fondness was undiminished.
“He’s something else this horse, just look at him,” Waterhouse said.
“And he can gallop as well.”
Having put the foibles and idiosyncrasies of the Cox Plate barrier draw behind her, Waterhouse turned her attention to Tuesday week and a race that she may well be looking to for redemption.
Waterhouse is planning to have two runners in the Melbourne Cup – the Caulfield Cup failure Glencadam Gold and the newly arrived Fiorente.
Both horses came to the Waterhouse stable from champion English trainer Sir Michael Stoute.
Even before Glencadam Gold’s Caulfield disaster, Fiorente shaped as the horse on the up and Waterhouse confirmed that view.
“He’s such a promising horse and he’s going in the right direction,” she said.
“His form in England is outstanding and you only have to take one look at him and you can see he’s a good type.
“It was love at first sight when I saw him.
“I looked at about 20 horses in France and England and he was the only one I wanted to buy.”
Waterhouse didn’t disclose what the owners had paid for Fiorente, except to say the “bidding war” started at $700,000, which might seem extravagant for a horse who has won only two races and less than $200,000.
But Fiorente fits perfectly into the “progressive” profile so sought after by international buyers.
After winning a Newbury maiden at the second of his nine starts, Fiorente graduated immediately to stakes class finishing second in a Group Two race at Royal Ascot in June last year.
That race was won by Nathaniel who this season has won the Group One Eclipse Stakes and finished third to the wonder horse Frankel at Ascot last weekend.
Fiorente’s only other win came in a Group Two race over 2400m at Newmarket in July in which he beat Joshua Tree and Red Cadeaux.
Joshua Tree has since won the Canadian International and the proven Melbourne Cup guide, the Prix Kergorlay.
And with the Waterhouse polish now being applied he is bound to arrive at Flemington ready to run.
