A familiarisation workout at the scene for this Saturday’s Magic Millions Victorian 2YO Classic has Michael Kent Jnr’s confidence in Guest House high ahead of his long-awaited debut.
The son of Home Affairs will return to Caulfield’s Heath track for the $250,000 event restricted to Magic Millions graduates.
The $270,000 yearling tuned up for the 1100-metre event with a 1-1/2-length trial win at that venue last Thursday and Kent, who trains in partnership with Mick Price, was pleased with what he saw from the colt.
“He’s got good talent, he’s a very speedy customer and we’ve done a lot of work on just getting him to harness his energy,” he said.
“I thought he acquitted himself very well. From an outside draw he begun OK, we could probably get that better, but then he mustered quickly without overdoing it (then) relaxed well outside the leader while going a nice tempo.
“I think on this Heath track it’s not easy to cover ground and keep going, so he showed good stamina later to extend and win nicely.”
Guest House defeated fellow Gold Coast Yearling Sale purchase Invincible Son in the 850-metre trial that contained a number of juveniles also targeting this weekend’s race.
The Robbie Griffiths-trained Invincible Son, John McArdle’s Sayalero (fourth) and the Grahame Begg-trained Oman (fifth) are the others from last week’s trial among the 13 entries for Saturday’s race.
The Magic Millions Victorian 2YO Classic will be run two-and-a-half months after the Listed Maribyrnong Trial Stakes, which was to be Guest House’s debut.
Price and Kent accepted for that race with Guest House, who will race under the Roll The Dice Racing colours, but scratched after he trialled twice in five days in an attempt to get to the 1000m race.
Guest House was subsequently freshened and defeated last Saturday’s impressive Pakenham winner Milsons Point in an 800m Cranbourne jumpout 10 days before his Caulfield trial.
The Victorian 2YO Classic is one of two Magic Millions races on Saturday’s Caulfield Heath card, accompanied by the $175,000 Magic Millions Victorian 3&4YO Classic, which is headlined by Bevan Laming’s in-form gelding Gin A Tonic, who is chasing three-straight wins.
