Trainer Gai Waterhouse (Image: Racing Photos)
Gai Waterhouse has indicated she will use the Group 3 Bart Cummings (2500m) on October 6 to qualify her lightly-raced import Hush Writer for this year's Melbourne Cup.
The Hall Of Fame trainer was at The Valley on Tuesday morning to watch the Japanese-bred galloper go through his paces before he makes his Australian debut on Saturday and she has high hopes as she eyes a second win in 'the race that stops a nation'.
"We've got to get him qualified for the Melbourne Cup," Waterhouse said.
"You've got to remember he hasn't done much racing, he's only had three races in his life.
"Hush Writer is yet to win black type but I don't think we'll be far away.
"He'll go to the 2040m first-up [on Saturday at The Valley] and then he'll go onto The Bart Cummings and then hopefully to the holy grail [the Melbourne Cup], where we are all hoping to go."
Waterhouse has been involved with Hush Writer from early on and was on course at Chantilly in France to watch the son of Rulership finish third in a Group 2 at just his third start.
"[The background is] we went off to Japan, a group of us went over there and we looked at all the weanlings and chose five of them, and one of them was Hush Writer," she explained.
"We sent him to France [to be trained] and I saw him run at Chantilly where he ran third in a Group race.
"He was a moral beaten that day as we'd say in Australia and he's a horse with a very bright future."
Hush Writer is a three-year-old (bred to northern hemisphere time) and Waterhouse is hoping he can follow in the footsteps of last year's winner Rekindling, who was also a northern hemisphere-bred three-year-old.
The Sydney-based trainer liked what she saw in his work on Tuesday morning and being a Melbourne Cup-winning trainer, she believes he's got what it takes to be a genuine contender.
"He's exceedingly light on his feet, almost like a ballet dancer," Waterhouse added.
"He was very excited here this morning, his eyes were on extenders.
"He worked with Northwest Passage, who is also running at The Valley on Saturday.
"He is a very exciting horse and he has an amazing turn of foot.
"He copes with his work remarkably well and he loves the exercise."