Racing: Waterhouse buoyant after Descarado wins

Gai Waterhouse. Photo / Kenny Rodger

Bookmakers might be uncertain about the Cox Plate credentials of Caulfield Stakes winner Descarado, but Gai Waterhouse is not.

Asked if Descarado could win the Cox Plate, Waterhouse told the Herald Sun: "Of course he can".

Descarado firmed from $34 to $15 with Eskander's Betstar after his gallant all-the-way win in the Caulfield Stakes on Saturday.

New Zealander Lion Tamer's Cox Plate's odds blew out from $6 to $11 after he finished second last with only Alcopop faring worse.

While Descarado wasn't a factor when he resumed, Waterhouse said she was confident he could improve.

"He's come right and he's come right at the right time. I knew he would come right just the way he was training," she said.

Nash Rawiller praised Waterhouse for turning around Descarado's fortunes to add a second group one at Caulfield, a week shy of a year after he won the Caulfield Cup.

"I said to Gai three or four weeks ago, 'we might have to pull the plug here' because he wasn't coming up as we would have liked," he said.

"To her credit, Gai has had faith all the way through."

Descarado scored by length from Avienus with 1 lengths to Lights Of Heaven third. Murray Baker said Lion Tamer didn't "put in".

Jockey Michael Rodd said Lion Tamer "fell out of the gates", was off the bridle throughout and showed little zest for the race.

Luke Nolen said Lights Of Heavens' 2-length third was a better showing, but it did little to illuminate what race the mare should tackle.

Hong Kong trainer John Moore said Mighty High could not quicken when the speed increased, but he was happy with the way he ran on to finish fourth.

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In New Zealand, King Mufhasa is a six-time group one winner and a star. In Australia he was a 10-start maiden.

But King Mufhasa set the record straight with a gritty Toorak Handicap win at Caulfield that has troubled connections in a pleasant way.

Part-owner David Archer said had King Mufhasa won the A$350,000 Toorak (1600m) more convincingly he would have paid the A$100,000 late entry fee for a Cox Plate start.

"If he'd won by two lengths I had planned to tell Steve McKee I was ready to pay the late entry. But the way he won, I think he'd done his dash. We'll have a talk about it, but I doubt it now," Archer said.

On Saturday, King Mufhasa raced outside Fast Clip and defied all challengers to score by a long neck from King's Rose with Luen Yat Forever a half-head away third.

McKee said the 7-year-old was a grand warrior who had endured a lot of bad luck on previous Australian visits.

He said the Toorak was the prime target and shouldering 58kg he feared he would be weighted out of the Emirates (1600m) next month.

Jockey Michael Rodd said King Mufhasa gave him one of the easiest group one winning rides of his career.

"It panned out perfect. He slipped at the start and I probably lost a length, but he picked himself up and switched off outside Fast Clip," he said.

- AAP