Meeting for a Lady – Camelot crew gather to discuss offers for Golden Slipper winner

Several entities have officially expressed an interest in buying prized mare Lady Of Camelot, the 2024 Golden Slipper winner whose sale could break Australasian records.

Sir Owen Glenn, Lady Of Camelot’s owner-breeder, and his Go Bloodstock manager Steve O’Connor met on Friday evening to discuss the merits of the “multiple” offers they received for the recently retired sprinter.

The well-bred mare, who won a Widden Stakes and finished runner-up in a Group 1 Blue Diamond and Percy Sykes Stakes during her five-start juvenile career, had been put up for private sale in a week-long process.

The deadline for offers closed at 5pm on Friday, leading to O’Connor and octogenarian Sir Owen to meet around a dinner table to determine who the successful buyer could be. 

The recently turned five-year-old, who was trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, was also highly competitive at three-year-old despite not winning a race during that season.

She ran third in a Group 1 Moir Stakes, fourth in The Everest and third in a Coolmore Stud Stakes in the spring and also finished second in a Group 1 Surround and third in a Coolmore Classic against her own sex during the autumn.

Plans for Lady Of Camelot to run at Royal Ascot this year were curtailed when the mare was stung by a stingray while being taken for a swim near Brisbane in May, forcing her to be retired.

O’Connor told The Straight last week that Sir Owen decided to offer her for sale to focus on his racing portfolio.

“Sir Owen will be in his 90s before any of her foals are ready to race and he thought now was a good time to sell Lady Of Camelot even though she’s a crown jewel, knowing that we have all the female family already,” O’Connor said. 

“She can be the cornerstone of another breeding operation’s future and that will be of benefit to us in the long-term as well because we’d love another offshoot of the family (to succeed) wherever that may be in the world, whether it’s Australia, America, Japan or Europe.”

Sir Owen retains ownership of Lady Of Camelot’s dam Miss Debutante, her first foal, Group 3 winner Queen Of The Ball, and her Zoustar yearling filly.

He also co-owns another stakes-winning sibling to Lady Of Camelot, Platinum Jubilee, in partnership with Coolmore.

“The market will dictate where she lands, but we firmly believe she’s the best broodmare prospect ever offered for sale in Australia,” O’Connor said.

The highest-priced mare sold in Australasia via public auction is Imperatriz who sold to Yulong for $6.6 million at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale in 2024.