Waterhouse And Smith

Newcastle Herald

Saturday December 6, 2008

Greg French

WATERHOUSE AND SMITH

John Ellicott, Hardie Grant Books, $45

The names Waterhouse and Smith have

been a part of the Australian horseracing

landscape for many decades.

And more than a few trees have perished for

the sake of another story about one or both sides

of the dynasty which finally came together when

Robbie Waterhouse, son of bookmaking king Bill,

and Gai Smith, daughter of legendary trainer TJ,

were married.

Love them or hate them, anyone who is

interested in the sport of kings must agree that

Australias racing industry has never been boring

where these families are concerned.

In this unauthorised biographical look at the two

families, Ellicott has written two separate books

in one and interwoven their stories at appropriate

times.

Some of the stories about

the Waterhouses include the

infamous Fine Cotton Affair,

the familys famous duels

with big-spending punters

like The Babe and the late

Kerry Packer and the infi ghting which caused

great rifts between relatives.

On the Smith side, there is the rise of TJ from

dirt-poor origins to become one of the worlds

greatest horse trainers and his daughter Gais

battle to fi rstly gain a training licence and then to

gain acceptance in what was a male-dominated

world.

All in all, this is a pretty good account of the two

families and one which most racing fans will love.

Greg French