2025 WJ McKell Cup: Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott flex French connection with Elamaz
French import Elamaz can emulate his compatriot Eliyass by making a winning Australian debut in a stakes race at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday.
The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Elamaz is the $4 favourite for the Listed $200,000 WJ McKell Cup (2000m).
Elamaz is raced in similar interests to stablemate Eliyaas, who also came from France with a record of six wins and two second placings from eight starts before winning the Lord Mayor's Cup over the Rosehill 2000m course at his Australian debut 12 months ago.
Eliyass trained on to win the Group 3 Kingston Town Stakes, defeating Ceolwulf, then ran third to champion mare Via Sistina in the Group 1 Turnbull Stakes.
Bott said there are obvious similarities between Eliyass and new stable recruit Elamaz who had seven races in France, finishing top two every start with four wins, all at 1600m.
'Elamaz was sourced by the same agent, Louis Le Metayer, on the back of Eliyaas last year,'' Bott said.
'Louis knows the form well over there, he has all the contacts and knows all the players. This horse, Elamaz, profile-wise in terms of his race record is very consistent, just like Eliyass.''
Bott said Elamaz had had a thorough grounding for his Australian debut with three barriers trials in which he has shown obvious talent each time.
Elamaz (Ire)
(Gleneagles (Ire) - Emiyna (Usa) par Marias mon (Usa)) @mickaelbarzalon @GraffardRacing @AgaKhanStuds #Elamaz
Prix Albanilla (St cloud - 1600m) pic.twitter.com/MsPRJ6zk7r
— French and International Horse Racing (@Vincenzo0612) May 1, 2024
•
'The majority of his races have been over a mile so we are stretching him out to this distance for the first time and he is first-up so we are learning about him on Saturday,'' Bott said.
'But he has had a good grounding with the three trials, he's a nice, progressive horse and is a very interesting one to watch on Saturday.''
Waterhouse is hoping for her fifth win in the McKell Cup after previous wins with Grand Connection (1995), We're Dancing (2002), Ecuador (2016), Hush Writer (2019) and Zoumon (2023), the last two wins in partnership with Bott.
The trainers also have Townsend ($7.50) lining up in the McKell Cup and believe he is set to improve after three runs from a spell.
'Townsend showed promise last preparation, particularly over this trip,'' Bott said.
'He hasn't quite had things go his way this time in but the blinkers are coming off and this looks a nice race for him to capitalise and bounce back to his best.''
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
3 hours ago
- News.com.au
Cricketer Amelia Kerr on how family saved her amid mental health battle
A desire to 'protect the people I love most' initially led star WBBL cricketer Amelia Kerr to try to hide her 'unbearable sadness' from her family. But after they surprised the young all-rounder with a lifesaving intervention that made her feel as if 'she was at her own funeral', their support became crucial to her ongoing management of anxiety and depression. Kerr took her game to another level in 2024 to be crowned player of the tournament during New Zealand's maiden T20 World Cup title run, and the International Cricket Council's Women's Cricketer of the Year. She was a prized pick-up for WBBL side the Sydney Sixers last season, after stints at the Brisbane Heat, and starred for the Mumbai Indians during their 2025 WPL title-winning season earlier this year. But reaching these heights has been anything but easy for the 24-year-old, who began to bottle up her emotions in her late teens because she felt she should be grateful to be 'living out my childhood dream' playing for the White Ferns. 'I was also living with the belief that everything I did had to be perfect. I never gave myself a break,' Kerr told News Corp's Can We Talk? campaign, in partnership with Medibank. 'My thoughts started to consume me and my only escape, the only place where my mind was clear and I felt like I could breathe, was training. 'I would get up early, train all day, then go to the pool at night and do recovery, so all I needed to do was come home eat, shower and try to sleep. 'I tried to avoid my family because I didn't want them to see the pain I was in.' Kerr said she believed that her loved ones couldn't fix her anguish, and therefore didn't want to burden them. But in 2021, the floodgates opened after she was sent home from a White Ferns training camp. Kerr said the decision angered her at the time, but she had since realised she 'had reached a crisis point' and needed 'serious help'. Teammate and close friend Maddy Green flew back with Kerr to her hometown of Wellington, where her parents, sister (fellow White Ferns cricketer Jess), grandparents, aunties and uncles staged a second intervention. A 10-minute, tear-filled speech by her dad, former Wellington player Robbie Kerr, was one of 'many powerful messages that night' that Kerr said gave her hope. 'I thought, 'My family need me here and I need to try get better for them',' she said. 'My family saved my life. 'They knew I was struggling, but they didn't quite know the degree. 'I was then taken to the crisis team at hospital (where) I spoke about how I was feeling. 'Everyone in that room was in tears.' Weekly sessions with a psychiatrist, medication and close monitoring followed, allowing Kerr to 'feel safe for once'. The talented bowler and batter also went public with her mental health battles when she pulled out of the White Ferns' 2021 tour of England. While she was 'scared' to be so open, doing so 'was me standing up for something I am passionate about, so it can provide others with hope that things can get better'. Kerr continues to manage her mental health through regular psychologist sessions, learning her 'warning signs' so she can ask for help before getting to a bad place, having a routine, practising gratitude and putting time towards activities that 'fill my cup' like exercise, being in nature, reading, playing guitar and being with loved ones. She also created Treading Water – a series on her website, in which 14 people share their stories of mental illness and recovery to 'help normalise those conversations'. Importantly, Kerr and her family have built 'a relationship of trust' in which she feels comfortable to 'tell them how I feel, and for them to do the same'. 'The experiences we have shared have made us even closer and more grateful for life,' she said.
News.com.au
3 hours ago
- News.com.au
Matildas vs Solvenia: Joe Montemurro's perfect start as Australia earns 3-0 win
Matildas forward Emily Gielnik gave new Australian women's coach Joe Montemurro the perfect start to his international coaching career less than three minutes into their friendly against Slovenia in Perth on Thursday night. Holly McNamara, who looked dangerous in attack all game, sealed the victory for him 83 minutes later. The 15th-ranked Matildas finished with a 3-0 win over the 38th ranked Slovenia after Hayley Raso followed McNamara into the net one minute later. It was an error-riddled performance from the Matildas though, they were lucky to have kept a clean sheet. New boss Montemurro wants his team to play a possession brand of football and they did that. Australia had almost 60 per cent possession, but a lot of it was in their own half, defending. Slovenia had 20 shots on goal, to the Matilda's 18. The second and final game of this series is on Sunday, ahead of two games against Panama, ranked 56 in the world, on 5 July and 8 July. Welcome back It wasn't the Matildas best squad on HBF Park, with at least half a dozen missing for different reasons. They did welcome a few back, who have missed recent internationals. Ellie Carpenter didn't play in the winning series against Argentina for personal reasons, but slotted straight back in. Raso returned from a quad tendon injury, while Mackenzie Arnold missed the last international window due to a leg injury sustained while playing for Portland Thorns. Raso entered the game in the 75th minute and had an instant impact She passed the ball to give McNamara her first international goal in her 10th appearance. And she scored the last one herself, a gift from Slovenia's defence. Arnold wasn't used, but Montemurro will surely play her on Sunday considering she is not available for the next series, against Panama. My goals Arnold's absence has left Teagan Micah in goal for recent games. She'd done well too and did so again on Thursday. The Matildas played four games this year before this clash with Slovenia, winning all four – two against Argentia and two against Korea Republic. Micah enjoyed clean sheets in three of them, letting in just one goal, against Argentina in a 4-1 win in Canberra on June 2. She had a few nervous moments on Thursday. Some poor passing by Australia's defenders gave Slovenia chances. They looked after Micah in the first half, Maya Sternad spraying one wide from close range and Spela Bolbl hitting the crossbar. Off target Micah was needed much more in the second half though, called upon to make five saves and was awarded with player of the match honours because of them. Slovenia was 5-1 going in international this year before Thursday night, beating Greece, twice, Turkey, twice and Ireland. Hitting the back of the net had not been a problem, scoring 12 goals in those five wins. Zara Kramzar and Lara Prasnikar have been scoring regularly. The radar was off for this pair and their teammate in Perth though. Kramzar had the perfect opportunity to level the game 1-1 in the 52nd minute after being gifted the ball by Matilda's defender Clare Hunt, but kicked it straight to a waiting Micah.. Prasnikar had several realistic scoring chances after half-time, but couldn't convert any of them.
ABC News
3 hours ago
- ABC News
Live updates: West Indies vs Australia, first Test, day two at Kensington Oval
After a disastrous day with the bat, Australia's seamers all struck late to help reduce the West Indies to 4/57 at stumps on day one of the first Test in Barbados. The tourists will be hoping for a stronger start to day two at Kensington Oval. Catch every ball of our live radio coverage, keep up to date with all the stats in our Score Centre, and follow all the action in our live blog.
