Mick Price has not given up on The Everest dream for his star colt Guest House, despite his defeat in last Saturday’s Golden Rose.
This year’s Golden Slipper winner was unplaced for the first time in his career when sixth, 5-1/2 lengths from winner Warwoven, in a roughhouse edition of the Group 1 for three-year-olds.
Price and his training partner Michael Kent Jnr were disappointed he was unable to justify short-priced favouritism, but Price said the way he came through the race meant there was no reason to deviate from the original plan.
“My opinion was to keep The Everest alive, as you would,” Price said when asked of his post-race message to Guest House’s owners, which include Coolmore Stud.
“I’ll probably send him to Mount White, the Coolmore facility there, where he goes in the cold water and has a freshen up and then you’ve got three weeks back into The Everest.
“I think it’ll work good. If they don’t want to do it fair enough, but that’s what I’d been doing.”
The $20 million Group 1 The Everest (1200m), which will again be headlined by Hong Kong superstar Ka Ying Rising, will be run at Randwick on October 17.
Guest House was involved in a bumping duel with St Gotthard in the middle stages of the Golden Rose and Price was relieved to see him emerge from his first try at 1400m in better shape than he did from his first-up win in the Group 3 San Domenico Stakes (1100m).
“He trotted out good and he pulled up better this morning than he did after the San Domenico,” Price said from Caulfield on Sunday.
“He had no joy in running, there was some fairly aggressive riding going on there, and he didn’t appreciate it when they sat up midfield and he got on heels.
“Then he went to come out on him and got hip-and-shouldered back in and overraced.
“The winner was great, to be fair, but I think 1400 is inconclusive based on yesterday.”
Guest House remains on a congested $15 third line in The Everest betting, behind only raging favourite Ka Ying Rising and the horse he defeated last year, Tempted.
