Gai Waterhouse’s famous Tulloch Lodge will be the new home for English galloper Carlton House who is raced by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Carlton House is currently under the care of top English trainer Sir Michael Stoute and will be transferred to Waterhouse after the four year old runs in the Group 1 HK$22m Longines Hong Kong Cup (2000m) at Sha Tin on Sunday.
“It’s really exciting news and such a compliment for Gai that The Queen is sending her best horse to us,” said Waterhouse’s Racing Manager Bruce Slade.
“He’s coming from Sir Michael Stoute’s yard where Fiorente was before he came down for the Melbourne Cup and ran so well for second.”
Carlton House is a lightly raced Street Cry stallion and as well as winning at Group 2 and 3 level showed he was right up with the best with a fighting second to dual Cox Plate winner So You Think in the Group 1 £500,000 150th Anniversary Of Prince Of Wales’s Stakes (1 mile 2 furlongs) at Royal Ascot on June 20.
This followed his win in the Group 3 £55,000 Betfair Brigadier Gerard Stakes (1 mile, 2 furlongs) at Sandown on May 31 while Carlton House’s other Group win was in the Group 2 £150,000 Totesport Dante Stakes (1 mile, 2 ½ furlongs) at York on May 12, 2011.
Waterhouse has shown this year that she has a knack for training English gallopers with Glencadam Gold flying the flag for the imports with an all the way win in the Group 1 $400,000 McGrath Estate Agents Metropolitan (2400m) at Randwick on October 6.
And English stayer Fiorente running a mighty race at his first run for Tulloch Lodge when second to Green Moon in the Group 1 $6m Emirates Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington on November 6.
Slade said that an Australian program will be mapped out after Carlton House runs in Hong Kong on Sunday but no doubt they will be chasing Group 1 success possibly in the Autumn and the Spring.
“We haven’t sat down and worked out what his racing aims will be yet, but I’m sure after he competes in Hong Kong on Sunday he’ll come here and have a break first,” Slade said.
“He’s an entire and I’m sure they like to get a Group 1 on him to help his stud possibilities.”
Carlton House heads to Sha Tin after finishing fourth to Excelebration in the Group 1 £1m Queen Elizabeth II Stakes Sponsored by QIPCO (British Champions Mile) (1 mile) at Ascot on October 20 and is $15 in the early market order for the Hong Kong Cup.
French galloper Cirrus Des Aigles heads the betting at $2.70 in front of local galloper California Memory at $5 with the other French runners Saonois at $7.50 and Giofra at $9 with Australian galloper Alcopop at $12.
