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Live sport on SN this weekendKent Jnr: Guest House can still win Blue Diamond
Connor Scanlon • February 8th, 2026 4:25 pm
Guest House was the equal favourite for the Group 1 Blue Diamond (1200m) prior to his run in the Group 3 Blue Diamond Prelude (1100m) on Saturday.
The Mick Price & Michael Kent Jnr-trained colt closed as the heavy favourite in the Prelude yet finished second to Closer To Free by a length.
The son of Home Affairs now has one win and one second next to his name from two starts, and some pundits have started to question whether Guest House can win the Blue Diamond.
But despite the noise, Kent Jnr was happy with how his two-year-old ran in the Prelude, explaining that he dug through adversity to finish second.
“The horse ran very well, he just didn’t execute properly,” Kent Jnr told RSN’s Correct Weight.
“Out of the gates, he either slipped or got his legs in a tangle and went to his knees basically - it was almost game over then, it was very messy.
“An ordinary horse would have fell right out of the race, to his credit, he stuck right on and was even pulling ground off the winner, closing to the line.
“I think we took a lot out of that, like he was a long gap between runs and it was only his second start… He's allowed to do things wrong.
“We can take good credence from Guest House's effort to face such adversity and still stick on.
“But, yeah, once he muddled the start, it was basically game over.”
In fact, the co-trainer is still confident that Guest House can win the $2 million sprint.
“What also gave us confidence (in the Prelude) is that he showed a lot of stamina and strength late - a few didn't and he really stuck on well.” Kent Jnr said.
“If he can just do things right (in the Blue Diamond), I think he's right in the race.
“I don't think there's any real standout (for the Blue Diamond), we still think he's got the ability to win a Blue Diamond.
“I don't think anything behind Guest House beats him.
“We've seen a lot of physical ability from the horse at home… I know I only saw it in the yard yesterday, but he looked like a man against boys.
Kent Jnr also confirmed that Jamie Melham will ride Guest House again in the Blue Diamond.
Guest House is now at $7 with Sportsbet to win the Blue Diamond on February 21.
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