Gai Waterhouse has doubled down on her August 25 claims that Farnan “will not be beaten”, as she spoke about her talented three-year-old before Saturday’s 2020 Run To The Rose (1200m) at Rosehill.
✈️FARNAN will not be beaten 🥇 https://t.co/QkcXoQr1CK
— Gai Waterhouse (@GaiWaterhouse1) August 24, 2020
Waterhouse has form with making bold claims like this in the past, when she declared Pierro would win the Golden Slipper in 2011, shortly after his first start.
“You don’t make a strongly worded statement unless you feel the horse can back it up,’’ Waterhouse said.
“Everyone laughed at me (with Pierro), of course it’s now history.
“Farnan is very much of the style of Pierro, very unassuming, just rolls up his sleeves and does his job. He’s a model colt, just a beautiful horse.
“It’s a privilege to be training an outstanding athlete and Farnan proved he was the superior colt in Australasia winning the Golden Slipper.
Watch: Farnan take out the Golden Slipper.
FARNAN WINS THE GOLDEN SLIPPER@GaiWaterhouse1 makes history winning her seventh. pic.twitter.com/8MUzA0dqTY
— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) March 21, 2020
“It’s a nice bunch of three-year-olds but they are all inferior to him. Well, they were as two-year-olds.”
Waterhouse is in agreement with jockey Hugh Bowman that Farnan hasn’t grown a whole lot physically since his two-year-old season, but she insisted that he had developed between the ears.
“He’s matured, I just like his demeanour,’’ she said.
“Hugh is very excited by the colt, he said to me he couldn’t believe how light he is on his feet.”
“When he does go into battle, and we’ve only seen him in trials recently, he puts them away and he puts them away convincingly. Not just a bob of the head.
“I was adamant with Adrian and Aquis that he spell after the Golden Slipper to recover and get ready and strengthen for the spring.
“The horse that won the Sires’ and Champagne (King’s Legacy), where did he finish in the Golden Slipper? He just confirmed the form.”
Farnan is currently a $2.60 favourite for Saturday’s 2020 Run To The Rose, the $3.80 favourite for the 2020 Golden Rose, and a $12 chance in The Everest.
