The business of finding a group 1 winner

Shinzo charged past the post with Ryan Moore in the famous navy blue of Coolmore in 2023, adding the Golden Slipper to the bounty of big races the stud has won throughout the world. It was perhaps the most satisfying win of all for Magnier.

“It’s about getting the best people involved,” he said. “The best trainers, the best jockeys and, of course, the best horses. We have the A-team that all want the same thing, to win this race.

“We are in an unbelievable position this year with two of the best colts going into the race, but nothing is certain.”

The rewards for a Golden Slipper win go beyond prizemoney. If the winner is a colt, it becomes an instant shaper of breeding, with a career as a stallion assured; a career that will be measured in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

It is why Coolmore and Chris Waller came together a few years back to target colts for the syndicate with the Golden Slipper in mind. They buy about 20 every year looking for a Shinzo.

The smartest bloodstock minds check every prospect before deciding on a final list, a process even Waller wasn’t comfortable with at first.

“It’s a unique group of investors, and working as part of a Coolmore team is amazing,” Waller said. “You sit at a table with some very experienced people. I guess it is the closest I’ll get to play in a State of Origin team.

“I have to say I was very intimidated to start with, sitting alongside some of the people, but they value your opinion and it helps with your confidence.

“We are all there for the same reason – we all want it to be successful.”

So far, the syndicate’s standouts have been Home Affairs, a Coolmore Stud Stakes and Lightning Stakes winner and, of course, Shinzo, which got the ultimate prize last year.

That makes a difference.

“Last year we hadn’t won the Golden Slipper and the question was, can you do it?” Waller said. “No one is asking can you do it again this year.

“I think the confidence you gain from success always makes you better, and it has certainly helped with Switzerland.”

The Snitzel colt has an unblemished record in three appearances, including a late-charging Todman Stakes win, and Waller believes he still hasn’t reached his peak.

“There’s a ceiling for a lot of horses; with this horse, there hasn’t been,” Waller said. “He’s kept lifting, he’s kept jumping the bar we’ve put in front of him.

“This Saturday he goes to another level again. What I like about his racing is he’s solid all the way to the line – he runs through the line – and I think the more pressure involved, the higher he’ll perform.”

However, he might just meet a once-in-a-generation colt coming out of the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott yard named Storm Boy. He is also unbeaten in four starts and was so impressive winning the Magic Millions, it forced Magnier’s hand to buy him back.

Coolmore sells most of its yearlings and Storm Boy was one that found a new home. But Magnier soon knew that he might be the one this year – the star stallion.

“It is a success for the farm in that we raced Pelican [the dam of Storm Boy] with Robert McClure and other partners, and it’s great to have Robert’s brand on Storm Boy, who was raised on the farm,” Magnier said.

“He was on our radar from the first time he trialled and with every run, it became obvious that he was one of the best colts in the country.

“We caught up with the owners after his first win and then he won the Magic Millions – we had to get a deal done.

“Again, without partners that have faith in us, we wouldn’t be able to buy a Storm Boy, and we are hoping that his rise continues for them.”

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It has so far, with victory in the Skyline Stakes, racing for the first time for the new owners three weeks ago, and co-trainer Adrian Bott continues to be impressed by the $2.20 Golden Slipper favourite, which is one of six runners from Tulloch Lodge.

“Physically you’ve only got to look at him to realise he’s that different class,” Bott said. “He’s very imposing and certainly stands out in that regard. He’s been more mature and more forward than his peers. He’s got the speed to go with that and a great constitution and will to win. He just needs to do it on Saturday now.”

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