Are there still any Gai Waterhouse knockers in Melbourne? Surely not after Sydney's champion trainer again produced the results to silence her critics with a Group One double at Flemington today.
Waterhouse backed up the breakthrough Group One success of her exciting sprinter Northern Meteor in the Coolmore Stud Stakes to claim her fourth win in the last 12 years in the $750,000 LKS Mackinnon Stakes with her tough as teak gelding Theseo.
Backing up from his torrid run in last Saturday's W.S. Cox Plate at Moonee Valley, Theseo recorded his second G1 victory from his last three starts and gave jockey Nash Rawiller back to back majors with his last stride win over Caulfield Cup placegetter Barbaricus.
A change of tactics saw Rawlller ride
Theseo 
more quietly than last week when he charged out of the Cox Plate gates to challenge Maldivian for the early lead.
The aggressive ride saw Theseo fire up and he would no settle for the first 800m before finishing a game fifth to the front running Maldivian.
Today Theseo again jumped sharply but Rawiller sat quietly and allowed Arlington and Barbaricus to go around him, allowing him to enjoy an easy run on back on the fence behind the leaders.
“”The idea was to take a sit,” Rawiller said. 'When the run came I knew he would have a good kick.”
Waterhouse has constantly been the victim of cheap snipes by media critics in Melbourne who incredibly try to maintain that her horses don't perform as well in Melbourne as they do in Sydney.
Their comments have become an embarrassment as Waterhouse has won twice as many races on Derby Day at Flemington than any other trainer in the last five years, including three of the last five Mackinnon Stakes.
Theseo has become one of her favourites and fully deserved his second Group One win today after a run of excellent performances this campaign including his win in the Epsom Handicap at Randwick.
Melbourne Cup acceptor Barbaricus ran right up to his Caulfield Cup form, responding to the application of blinkers when he grabbed what appeared to be a winning break at the 200m before Theseo got clear and drove late to get up the line.
Apart from the gallant run by Barbaricus the Mackinnon offered little as a Melbourne Cup guide apart from the announcement that Kiwi stayer Red Ruler will not be a runner on Tuesday after finishing midfield.
Turnbull Stakes winner Littorio was the one expected to put in a big Cup trial but he did not produce the expected finish, only working evenly to the line from the rear but still a long way from the winner.
Bart Cummings' Brisbane Cp winner Viewed looked full of running when he was held up for a run at the 250m. While he was only fair over the closing stage the run will no doubt bring him on for Tuesday.
Kiwi mare Princess Coup could not improve on her Cox Plate failure, again racing at the back of the field and making little headway over the last 400m.
