First Lady of Racing has been a surprising absentee from Rosehill

Gai Waterhouse has spearheaded the campaign to save Rosehill racecourse from a $5 billion sale – but the First Lady of Racing has not been trackside there for years.

Gai Waterhouse at Royal Randwick Racecourse. Picture: Mark Evans/Getty Images

The face of the Save Rosehill campaign has not attended a race meeting at the Western Sydney track for at least five years, it has been revealed in the countdown to a landmark vote on the course’s future.

Australian Turf Club members will decide this month on a proposal to sell Rosehill for $5 billion as part of government-backed plans to deliver 25,000 homes on the site and surrounding precinct.

The ATC plan to use part of the windfall to remodel Warwick Farm into a world-class racing and training facility.

Rosehill Racecourse. Picture: Monique Harmer

Gai Waterhouse, the Hall of Fame trainer dubbed “The First Lady of Racing”, has been strident in her opposition to the sale, making her a linchpin for the Save Rosehill group.

But a number of well-connected racing sources told The Daily Telegraph that Waterhouse has not attended the Rosehill races since before the Covid-19 outbreak in early 2020, a fact the trainer confirmed from the US.

“Just because I’m not at the races at Rosehill doesn’t mean I don’t love it,” she said. “I spend 24/7 of my seven days a week thinking and breathing racing. I love racing and I’m passionate about Rosehill.”

One source said Waterhouse has also been noticeably absent from Randwick races in recent years – despite her major training base for the past three decades being adjacent to the track – and is seen “far more frequently” at Flemington in Melbourne where she has a boutique stable of horses.

Gai Waterhouse at the Melbourne Cup Parade in 2024. Picture: Michael Klein

Waterhouse is an ambassador for the Victorian Racing Club, initially appointed in 2017.

“Everyone knows the VRC have been dead against Sydney building a strong spring carnival with races like The Everest … and Gai has been outspoken about the governance and leadership of Racing NSW, so it’s all got people wondering,” a source added.

In the past week Waterhouse was in the US to attend the Kentucky Derby.

From Lexington she told this masthead her VRC role did not colour her opinions on racing in either state, adding her lack of visibility on Sydney tracks was down to Adrian Bott taking the senior role in their training partnership.

“I want him to be forefront,” she said. “When I go to the races I become forefront. It’s Adrian’s business and I watch the races from home … and ring him and talk with him.”

Waterhouse claimed any focus on her was distracting from the main game.

Gai Waterhouse with VRC CEO Kylie Rogers (left) and VRC Chairman Neil Wilson in Melbourne. Picture: Michael Klein

“Warwick Farm doesn’t have the room to do what they (the ATC) are talking about,” she said.

Racing officials counter Warwick Farm has 87 hectares available against a 60-hectare footprint at Rosehill.

Waterhouse also slammed the offer of free memberships and $1000 food and drink spends for existing members if the sale proposal is endorsed on May 27.

“The issue is not whether Gai goes to the races or not, the issue is should they be bribing the members to vote yes and no they shouldn’t,” she said.

ATC Chairman Peter McGauran said the membership packages were aimed at “revitalising flagging race day attendances” while rewarding “loyal and long-term members by sharing in some of the proceeds (of the sale)”.