Guest House chasing history with rare Golden Rose double

Guest House’s path towards the Golden Rose has not been as straight-forward as Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr would have hoped, but they are confident things are coming together at the right time.

Just a few hours after gun hoop Zac Lloyd put the Golden Slipper winner through his paces at Rosehill trackwork on Tuesday morning, the Golden Slipper winner came up with barrier five for this Saturday’s $1 million Group 1, which attracted a field of 13.

The Golden Rose will be just the second start of the campaign for Guest House, following a track record win in the Group 3 San Domenico Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill on August 29.

The son of Home Affairs took some time to get over that run, which resulted in Price and Kent bypassing their scheduled second-up run in the Group 2 Run To The Rose (1200m), and they are delighted with the way he has bounced back in the lead-up to the Golden Rose.

Kent is taking confidence from the stable’s win with Jacquinot in 2022 ahead of Guest House’s quest 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 market agrees with Guest House short-priced favourite from Run To The Rose winner Warwoven, who drew the inside alley and replaced blueblood colt St Gotthard as second favourite after the latter drew gate nine.

Guest House is eyeing history in the Golden Rose, which has held Group 1 status since 2009.

In that time no Golden Slipper has also won the race that has risen to become one of Australia’s most lucrative races for three-year-olds, with Fireburn’s fifth placing behind Jacquinot the best result of the four Slipper winners to have contested the Golden Rose since 2009.