Winning Horse: White Marlin (Ire)

4yoG Mastercraftsman (Ire) - Playwithmyheart (GB)(Diktat (GB))

5 starts - 5 wins $104340

Other Wins

1st Caulfield Tobin Brothers Celebrating Lives Handicap 2000m (2022)

1st Rosehill Vale Cecily Backhouse Handicap 1800m (2022)

1st Dundalk Aw Irishinjuredjockeys.Com Apprentice Handicap (50-80) 2414m (2022)

1st Dundalk Aw Crowne Plaza Hotel Leading Jockey & Trainer Championship Maiden 2414m (2021) (Debut Run)

Other Placings

Race Result:

1st: White Marlin (Tim Clark/Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott) - $2.35F

2nd: Protection Money (Brett Prebble/Nigel Blackiston) - $71
3rd: Caboche (Damian Lane/Chris Waller) - $8

Winning Time: 3:56.46 Last 600m: N/A

Margins: 5½L x 1½L

Winning Trainer: Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott (Gai speaking)

Impressive performance: “It certainly was. He’s the real deal and I hope we’ll see him this time next year.

“He’s very good looking.”

How they acquired the horse: “My husband sourced him at the Tatts Sale. He’ came to Australia and quite a few people wanted a white or grey horse. But he’s just grown so much.”

From Adrian Bott:

“It just keeps getting better. Very impressive today. He’s gone to a new level. Up in class, up in trip, he was very dominant.

“Very pleasing to see and for the connections going forward.”

What’s next: “We did leave the option for one more run this campaign and have a good look at the Sandown Cup with him stretching out over 3200 metres. I think it would be an option the way he ran it out today.

“We’re mindful of it being his first preparation over here and obviously the long range plan is to be back here in 12 months time.

“We’ll see how that 12 month program will look and we’ll see if that run again fits in.

“He’s shown us enough potential today and we’ll do what feels right for him.”

Winning Jockey: Tim Clark

“He’s just continued to improve. I’m not saying he caught us by surprise first-up but we probably expected him to be coming to his own when he got to these sort of distances.

“He’s been able to do it over shorter trips and obviously stepping up to the 2800 today, he loved that. He was going to win a long way from home.”

On pace: “That’s one thing he’s continued to improve with his early speed. It took a while to get the hang of that but he was able to do it quite well today and we had a decision to make early and just had to trust him and the stable.

“Once I got across there after doing a but of work we decided to come back and Johnny (Allen on Noonday Gun) went around and gave me a bit of cover, probably just traveled a bit too good in that grade and steps up to a better grade where there’s bit more pressure, he’s going to adapt to it really well and settle a little but better.”

“He got away quite well. He has been a bit sticky at the start but he got away quite well.

“We let the race unfold to see how it would all work out. We made the decision at the winning post to press a little bit to getting outside the leader. He traveled strongly throughout.

“He couldn’t have been more impressive.”