Australian racing’s most wanted – Slipper glory turns up heat on chase for Guest House

Coolmore and Yulong are firming as the clear front runners to land Golden Slipper winner Guest House, the first colt available on the open market to win the race since 2020.

In what will be of little surprise, it is the two powerhouse stud farms who have made their interest clear following the Mick Price and Mick Kent Jnr-trained Guest House’s emphatic win at Rosehill on Saturday.

While every major commercial stallion farm would have aspirations of acquiring Guest House for stud duties, given the marketability of a Slipper-winning colt, it’s the two giants of the international thoroughbred industry who are likely to put forward the most compelling offers for the son of Home Affairs.

Guest House, who ran an unlucky third in the Blue Diamond, is majority owned by the Roll The Dice Racing syndicate members as well as some of Price and Kent Jnr’s clients.

Coolmore, which stands leading first season sire Home Affairs, also recently inked a $70 million deal to buy proven New Zealand-based stallion Super Seth as it looks to replenish its stallion roster after the loss of Wootton Bassett and So You Think.

Yulong, meanwhile, has a battery of colts readying for retirement to the stallion barn.

Last year’s ATC Sires’ Produce Stakes winner Vinrock’s retirement was confirmed by Yulong on Sunday while Blue Diamond winner Devil Night and The Galaxy winner Private Harry could also head to stud in 2026.

Roll The Dice’s Leigh Saville said there was plenty to work through in reaching the right deal for the owners of Guest House, but he pointed to their past experience in negotiating a stallion deal with their then young colt Profiteer.

“We’ll sit down and entertain some discussions. Some of the owners who were in Profiteer are in this horse and some are new, so it’s just about making sure everyone gets their voice heard,” Saville told The Straight. 

“We take a consultative approach, but also it’s an educational approach as well for some people who haven’t been through the process before.

“When you’ve got Coolmore interested, and Mick (Price) was quoted that he’s going to have a chat to Tom (Magnier from Coolmore), it’s about bringing all the parties together. 

“Each stud will structure up their deal in different ways and we’ve got to see what works for us. We’re in absolutely no hurry, we’ll let the dust settle and not make any rash decisions.”

In the case of Profiteer, if he had won the Slipper (he ran seventh behind Stay Inside and runner-up Anamoe in 2021), his owners would have pocketed a $20 million bonus on top of the $2.5 million upfront payment they received after his first start.

Other kicker payments included $15 million if he won the Coolmore Stud Stakes or $10 million if he won a Group 1 race as a two or three-year-old Group 1 race up to 1200m in Sydney or Melbourne including The Everest.

If he was to win a Group 1 race, outside the aforementioned, connections would receive a $5 million bonus payment, although they would not receive multiple kicker payments with the highest figure cancelling out the others

In that instance, Roll The Dice’s Profiteer owners also retained all of the $1.2 million first prize money he earned for winning the Inglis Millennium.

In a more recent example, Coolmore bought into Storm Boy after his 2024 Magic Millions 2YO Classic win, a performance that saw him surge to Golden Slipper favourite, in a deal that valued him at $22.5 million.

“Each stud will structure up their deal in different ways and we’ve got to see what works for us. We’re in absolutely no hurry, we’ll let the dust settle and not make any rash decisions.” – Leigh Saville

After negotiations through the owners’ representative agent Jim Clarke, if Storm Boy was to win a string of Group 1 races, including the Slipper, a Coolmore Stud Stakes and/or an Everest, the son of Justify’s price could have skyrocketed to as much as $60 million. 

“It’s all very flexible these days … the studs will stump up what they think they need to and the incentives (kicker payments) and those sorts of things certainly help get deals done,” Saville said of potential deals for Guest House, who is likely to be spelled rather than push on to the Sires. 

“(Our owners) are pretty emotionally invested in this colt now, not just financially, but we’ve had him for 12 months or so and there’s a pretty great emotional connection with him. 

“You spend a lot of time trying to find a good one, and when you find a good one, they tend not to want to let them go, and we understand that.”

Farnan, who won the Golden Slipper during the Covid year of 2020, was the last colt not owned directly by a stud before this Group 1 triumph. 

Phoenix Thoroughbreds and Tony Fung Investments, who did have stallion connections through Aquis, elected to on-sell him to Kia Ora in its relaunch as a Hunter Valley stallion operation on the eve of Farnan’s three-year-old season.

Vancouver, who won the Slipper in 2015, was also available on the open market but the following year’s winner Capitalist was already connected to then fledgling stud Newgate Farm.

Henry Field’s Newgate Farm also bought 2021 winner Stay Inside prior to his Slipper win, with his win triggering a kicker payment.

Pierro (2012), Sebring (2008) and Stratum (2005) were also sold to stud interests after their Slipper victories while Sepoy, the only other colt to win the race since the turn of the century, was bred and owned by Godolphin and he retired to its Kelvinside stallion roster after his racing career.

Saville is confident that Guest House can enhance his racing CV as a three-year-old given the powerful colt’s strength and upside.

“It’s great for our brand to keep racing a colt like this and I think he’s going to train on as well,” he said. 

“I think he’s going to be a 1400m horse and he might even get out to a mile the way he’s racing now as a two-year-old, but the commercial reality is, you’ve got to think with your head and not your heart, so that’s what we’re going to try to do.”