Two years ago, after following the horse for many months, a beautiful black Monsun colt was secured by JHB on behalf of Gai Waterhouse and Round Table Racing. That colt was Excess Knowledge. He is a horse who bears a striking similarity to another JHB purchase with Gai Waterhouse, Fiorente. Both are by the same exceptional stallion, both were bred by outstanding breeders, both were highly-progressive staying three-year-olds who very much passed Rob Waterhouse’s stringent form analysis and both are truely exceptional physical types.
Second in a Melbourne Cup straight off the plane, Fiorente went on to win Australia’s most famous race a year later as a six-year-old. Excess Knowledge has been bought along beautifully by Gai on a similar schedule and will line up in this year’s Melbourne Cup also as a six-year-old. He gains a start in the race with a featherweight of 51.5kgs by virtue of a pulsating triumph in the Group 3 Lexus Stakes over the weekend, a hugely admirable effort considering he was sitting three wide throughout and he was also one of very few horses to win away from the rail on the day.
A big congratulations to Bruce & Natasha Slade of Round Table Racing and the big and fantastic group of owners in Excess Knowledge, who are all now in for the chance of a lifetime in the Melbourne Cup, and to Gai Waterhouse who has nurtured Excess Knowledge beautifully, and now has two live chances to win the Melbourne Cup twice in three years.