Guest House Stuns Field to Claim $5 Million Golden Slipper at Rosehill

Guest House carved through the inside of a rain-soaked field at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday to win the $5 million TAB Golden Slipper by a length and a half, delivering trainer Mick Price his first victory in the world's richest two-year-old race and jockey Zac Lloyd a ride that will define his career.

The Home Affairs colt, trained in partnership by Price and Michael Kent Jnr and sent out at $11.95, settled deep in the pack as light rain fell and early pressure built from the front. Paradoxium flew the gates from a wide draw, Closer To Free was also prominent, and Blue Diamond Stakes heroine Streisand raced near the speed. Lloyd bided his time past midfield, angled back towards the inside approaching the straight, found a gap and let Guest House go. The colt accelerated with a ferocity that made the result look straightforward: he hit the lead with 100 metres to run and held on comfortably, paying $3.40 for a place. Streisand fought on gallantly to hold second, the Canberra gelding Music Time ran on strongly for third under trainer Gratz Vella, and Campione D'Italia finished fast for fourth despite being worked up in the mounting yard beforehand.

"He's had three runs where nothing went right. With the speed on, he finally relaxed. Zac Lloyd, what can I say, he read the pattern, and the horse was so good," Kent Jnr said. He expanded further: "I'm so rapt for Mick Price, he has come very close in this race, it's a bloody hard race to win, what a colt, he is such a robust 2-year-old type and he didn't just win by a small margin, he blew them away really." Kent Jnr then let loose with a celebratory dance in a damp Rosehill mounting yard that matched the magnitude of the moment.

Assistant trainer Ben Elam gave context to a preparation that had not always run smoothly. "It's incredible. It's a Golden Slipper. It's the pinnacle of two-year-old racing, and he has taken a bit of work. Pre-Christmas, he was a bit of a lad. He went down to Melbourne, and the Melbourne staff did a terrific job with him. He came up here in tip-top shape off what was an unlucky run. He's been an absolute gentleman up here."

Lloyd, who completed a treble on the card, was direct about what he witnessed underneath him. "It was high pressure, but my colt, he was fantastic. He's obviously a very good Home Affairs colt. He's been a bit tricky in his mannerisms, but today he was very attractable. He just quickened that well. I was just waiting for a run, but geez, he let down so well. I'm so pleased for the big ownership and Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr and Ben Elam, who works here in Sydney."

The win was the first time in 15 years a Victorian-trained horse had claimed the Slipper. Among those beaten, Craig Newitt reported Spicy Miss "ran really well probably up until the furlong, just found wanting a little bit in that grade," while Craig Williams said Chayan "didn't run up to her form unfortunately" despite finding a good position relative to the winner. Regan Bayliss said of Shiki simply that "she has come to the end of her prep," and Tim Clark noted Pembrey "tried hard" but that "the sustained pressure found her out" from a wide draw.

The result carries significant weight beyond the Price and Kent Jnr stable. Guest House delivered Coolmore's Home Affairs his first Group 1 winner from his first crop in the most stallion-defining race in Australian racing. Home Affairs already led first-season sires' tables on both sides of the Tasman before Saturday, recording five winners, three stakes winners, and four stakes-placegetters from his first crop. His 2025 service fee of $82,500 is now widely expected to rise sharply. The broader card at Rosehill reinforced the theme: the first four of the day's five Group 1s went to stallions aged ten or younger, a generational shift playing out in real time.

Earlier on the same card, James McDonald claimed his 130th Group 1 win, a milestone that underscored just how much history was packed into one afternoon at Rosehill. For Guest House and his connections, the Slipper itself was more than enough.