Gai Waterhouse and Chris Munce team up for Doomben Cup Gai Waterhouse believes Doomben Cup hope Hippopus (left) can help beef up her Queensland Group 1 tally. Picture: Mark Evans Source: The Daily Telegraph THE formidable firm of Gai Waterhouse and Chris Munce will team up in Brisbane on Saturday, with the trainer convinced Doomben Cup hope Hippopus can beef up her Queensland Group 1 tally. Waterhouse has been one of racing's biggest names for two decades, but has enjoyed relatively limited success at Group 1 level in Queensland with only Juggler (1996 Doomben Cup), Zacheline (1998 Queensland Oaks) and Bentley Biscuit (2007 BTC Cup) winning at the elite level. Hippopus will be Waterhouse's first big-time Brisbane invader for this carnival and the stable has been infused with confidence by the giant-killing win of Anthony Cummings' three-year-old Your Song in the BTC Cup. Your Song will be retired to stud after racing in the Doomben 10,000 and Stradbroke Handicap (1400m), to stand at Widden Stud, with the Fastnet Rock colt set to be a big earner in the breeding barn. It continues a theme with champion three-year-old colts Pierro and All Too Hard also retired to stud in recent times. Hippopus, who won the VRC St Leger at his last start, will be best suited in the Queensland Derby (2400m) but Waterhouse likes the colt's chances in the Doomben Cup (2000m). "Gai wouldn't be sending him if she didn't think he was a realistic chance," Waterhouse's foreman Mark Newnham said. Ideally he is better suited over further, as you saw in the St Leger (2800m) in Melbourne, but he has got enough speed in his legs to be very competitive on Saturday. Your Song certainly wasn't among the best couple of three-year-olds, he wasn't Pierro and he wasn't All Too Hard, but he got up to Brisbane and absolutely spanked them. It shows it is a very good three-year-old crop this season. Foreteller and Lights Of Heaven head Doomben Cup betting markets but bookmakers are taking no chances with the Waterhouse-Munce factor and have Hippopus on the fourth line of betting at $9. The Munce booking re-ignites his formidable combination with Waterhouse, with the duo combining to win the 2010 Caulfield Cup on Descarado and plenty of other big-race winners including Dance Hero in the 2004 Golden Slipper. That's a plus. Muncey has got a terrific record for the stable over a number of years," Newnham said. He knows how Gai likes her horses ridden so he is an obvious choice. Hippopus is a natural staying type of horse so he will be on pace. He's been sharp enough to win over 1900m around Canterbury, and you've got to have a horse that can jump and travel to do that. Gai has had in mind the Derby for a while and thought this race was the best way to get him there. Munce said he was sure Waterhouse would have Hippopus primed for the cup. "You can always ride Gai's horses with confidence and I am sure Hippopus will be well placed," Munce said.