Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Gai Waterhouse poses with Fiorente during a media call at Flemington. Picture: Getty Images Source: Getty Images
FIORENTE could become the first Australian-trained Melbourne Cup winner to race at Royal Ascot with Gai Waterhouse seriously considering an international race campaign next year.
Waterhouse purchased Fiorente for $1.1 million after watching him race at England's Newmarket racecourse last year and she believes the six-year-old has the right temperament to make the long trip back there to take on Europe's best stayers.
There has been mention of a possible Ascot Gold Cup start but that race is over a marathon 4000m distance. Perhaps the more suitable race for Fiorente is the weight-for-age Prince of Wales's Stakes run over about 2400m during Royal Ascot.
So You Think, the dual Cox Plate winner and third placegetter in the 2010 Melbourne Cup, won the Prince of Wales's Stakes two years ago.
Waterhouse said she will consider Fiorente's 2014 race program while the super stayer enjoys a well-earned spell.
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"Fiorente's pulled up very, very well from the Melbourne Cup and he will go for a nice break now,'' Waterhouse said.
"There are a number of options for him next year including the Australian Cup and The BMW before Royal Ascot.
"He's definitely good enough to take back to England. I don't like setting any hard and fast plans. We'll let the dust settle and work it out from there."
Fiorente gave Waterhouse her first Melbourne Cup triumph with his outstanding effort to run down Red Cadeaux in the famous Flemington two-miler on Tuesday.
Fiorente's strapper, Des Fisher, gives the champ a bit of attention. Picture: Jay Town Source: News Limited
He became only the fourth horse in Cup history to improve on a second placing and win the following year after The Grafter (1898), Gold And Black (1976) and Empire Rose (1988).
Fiorente is a six-year-old but has only had 16 career starts and Waterhouse is convinced the entire will be a force in anything he contests next year.
"If you ask me what is the perfect horse I have to say it is Fiorente,'' she continued.
"He never put a foot wrong in his Cup preparation, he is the utmost professional.
"For a stallion, Fiorente has a great disposition, he loves his work and is a very competitive horse.
"Just look at the way he pinned his ears back when he was chasing down Red Cadeaux in the Melbourne Cup.
"The only other horse I know that really pins his ears back like that was Pierro and he was a champion.''
Fiorente was a promising middle distance horse in England but there is no doubt he has improved considerably since Waterhouse took over training him 12 months ago.
"The way we train our horses is very different to what they do in Europe,'' Waterhouse said.
"It's quite interesting because they (European trainers) have great difficulty in getting their heads around how we run our stayers over 1200m and 1400m at the start of their race preparations.
"In Australia, our racing is more about speed and it is has certainly done Fiorente the world of good because we have injected the speed into him.''
Waterhouse is also well aware of the stallion potential in Fiorente but quickly the entire will race on next year.
"He's an interesting horse. He's by Monsun who is no longer with us, he's beautifully-bred on his female side and he's a very handsome horse,'' Waterhouse said.
"That sort of horse is not really available in the southern hemisphere so it makes him very attractive.''
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