Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr have expressed confidence that Guest House is hitting peak form for the Golden Rose, despite a less than straightforward preparation.
Just hours after jockey Zac Lloyd worked the Golden Slipper winner at Rosehill on Tuesday, Guest House drew barrier five for the $1 million Group 1 event this Saturday, which features a field of 13 runners.
The upcoming Golden Rose will mark only the second start of the campaign for Guest House. His first-up run saw him break the track record in the Group 3 San Domenico Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill on August 29.
Following that impressive performance, the Home Affairs colt required time to recover, leading Price and Kent to withdraw him from his planned second-up run in the Group 2 Run To The Rose (1200m). They are now pleased with his recovery and readiness for the Golden Rose.
Kent is drawing parallels with the stable’s 2022 success with Jacquinot, ahead of Guest House’s major assignment this weekend.
“I think it was a very wise decision to skip the Run To The Rose,” Kent said.
“The horse was clearly quite forward in condition and the fact that he could run a track record first up showed that.
“We won with a similar training pattern with Jacquinot in the Golden Rose; he won the McNeil on the same weekend (as the San Domenico) and went four weeks in.
“If he runs to his best and he gets the 1400 metres, he’s the one to beat for sure.”
The betting market reflects this confidence, with Guest House installed as the short-priced favourite. He is closely followed by Run To The Rose winner Warwoven, who secured the inside gate, and St Gotthard, who was demoted to third favourite after drawing barrier nine.
Guest House is aiming to make history in the Golden Rose, a race that has held Group 1 status since 2009. Notably, no Golden Slipper winner has subsequently won the Golden Rose, which has become a premier event for three-year-olds. Fireburn’s fifth place behind Jacquinot is the best result achieved by any of the four Slipper winners who have contested the Golden Rose since 2009.