Against All Odds Gai Waterhouse: woman in a man’s world. Kevin Perkins.

Gai Waterhouse has earned a conspicuous place as one of Australia’s best-known and admired women. 

The glamorous daughter of legendary horse trainer TJ Smith, she began her career as an actress and model in England and Canada, switching to popular television presenter in Australia before realising her life’s passion - horses and racing. 

But when she sought to follow her father, the privileged status she enjoyed in the exciting, intriguing world of racing crumbled. The men in this male domain turned against her. And the all-powerful Australian Jockey Club refused her a trainer’s license because of her marriage to warned-off bookmaker Robbie Waterhouse.

In seeking justice against intolerable discrimination, the young wife and mother showed remarkable courage and determination and, under the glare of headlines and personal pressures, fought the powerful AJC right up to the High Court.

Her victory against the establishment in the intensely male and chauvinistic racing scene created history. Gai then set out to prove she could compete with the best.

Now hailed as the leading Randwick trainer and one of the most outstanding in Australia after only four years, she’s beaten the men at their own game.