“I am feeling confident - confident that they’ve had pretty good training preparations, which is what we need to have from them,” Price told ANZ News.

“Unfortunately training is not raceday level, and raceday brings out all your mistakes, but if I’ve made a mistake, I can’t see it at this point.

“I feel like I’ve been able to get my timing right on both of them, and both horses go in pretty spot on, I believe.”

Price has won Victoria’s two-year-old showpiece twice previously, before Michael Kent Jnr joined him as co-trainer.

He did it with Extreme Choice (Not A Single Doubt) in 2016, and that horse has duly gone on to become not just a sire but a super one, at Newgate Farm.

Price also did it with the filly Samaready (More Than Ready) four years earlier, and she’s blossomed into an outstanding broodmare, leaving Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m) winner and current Coolmore stallion Shinzo (Snitzel) and his four-time stakes-winning sister Exhilarates.

Such storylines underscore the enduring significance to the breeding scene of the Blue Diamond.

In the ten editions starting with Extreme Choice’s, the race has been won by seven colts. All six who are old enough - not counting last year’s winner Devil Night (Extreme Choice) - have gone on to stand at stud.

Written By (Written Tycoon) and Tagaloa (Lord Kanaloa) have made decent starts, while Artorius (Flying Artie) and Daumier’s (Epaulette) first yearlings are hitting the sales rings this year.

Among the two still living female winners from our sample period, 2017 winner Catchy (Fastnet Rock) has thrown dual stakes winner Floozie (Zoustar).

“There’s no doubt that it's still a good stallion maker,” Price said of the Blue Diamond. “It certainly worked for Extreme Choice, though admittedly he won a second Group 1 as a three-year-old.”

And so, if not quite as pronounced as on Golden Slipper day, the fizzing cocktail of pressure and hope will be acute at Caulfield on Saturday, with so much riding on the result.

Saturday’s edition rings remarkably similar for Price as 2016. Extreme Choice started $2.70 favourite and won clearly, by 1.75 lengths. Price also had the $5 second elect Flying Artie (Artie Schiller), and he ran second.

For more on stallion-making, Flying Artie is now kicking goals as a sire at Blue Gum Farm, with triple elite winner Asfoora being Europe’s reigning Champion Sprinter, and the stallion’s dual stakes winning son Sixties seemingly bearing down on a Group 1 title to match his brother, to Artorius.

Yet price can’t have gone into 2016 feeling like he was holding as strong a hand as he has for this edition a neat decade later.

For one thing, Extreme Choice had gate 11 and Flying Artie 15. If Saturday’s emergencies come out, Big Sky will have gate three and Guest House two.

Big Sky, a $140,000 Magic Millions Gold Coast yearling buy for Price bred by Queensland’s Eureka Stud, has had a flawless preparation. After two jump outs, he debuted with an effortless 2.75-length win in a 1000 metres two-year-old handicap, taking to the Flemington straight like so many young horses don’t.

Held back to the same trip, he strolled home arrogantly with a three-length victory, again in a seven horse field, in Caulfield’s Chairman’s Stakes (Gr 3, 1000m) on January 31.

That’s given him three weeks between runs into Saturday, and it’s the same as the path as the muscular Extreme Choice took into his Blue Diamond.

Guest House is on a two-week lead-in, the same as Samaready. A $270,000 Gold Coast buy for Price, Rogers Bloodstock and the Roll The Dice Racing concern whose colours he bears, the first crop son of Coolmore’s Home Affairs (I Am Invincible) debuted with a 0.75-length win in a field of ten over 1000-metres at Cranbourne’s metro meeting on December 27.

But it was in defeat at his subsequent start in the Blue Diamond Prelude (Gr 3, 1100m), when he gave Saturday’s rider Jamie Melham quite the torrid time, that he shone most impressively.

He may have run a one-length second to Saturday’s $6 third-favourite, the Danny O’Brien trained Closer To Free (Street Boss), but it was the obstacles he crashed through in getting there that pleased Price.

“I was very surprised when Guest House duffed the start in the Prelude and then charged into the bridle,” the trainer said. “He was still game enough to run second, which I thought was a pretty good effort, because horses who miss the start, and then pull, and they’re deep, and they’ve got no cover, and they’re working - they don’t usually run second.

“I thought in the run that he would run seventh, so I thought it was an indication of his capacity, and I’m very happy with that colt.”

Guest House is striving to go in at the top level as a first Australian stakes winner for Home Affairs, who covered 205 mares at $82,500 (inc GST) at Coolmore last year, and who’s made an eye-catching start at stud. From only his first 18 runners, the seven-year-old has seven stakes horses and four winners, including one black-type victor in New Zealand Group 2-winning colt Kinnaird.

Melham rode Guest House in some “very strong work” on Tuesday morning, Price said, while race rider Jordan Childs steered Big Sky.

“They’re both going very well,” Price said. “They don’t work together, they don’t need to work together. The last time we worked Guest House in company he overworked. He’s very, very competitive. He’s still got a fair bit to learn, that colt.”

While Guest House may have worked too hard to win his last start, Price sees no attraction in trying to hold him back.

“I don’t think the horse will allow himself to be ridden in that fashion,” he said. “Jamie knows him well, he’s not an easy horse to ride, but I think she’s got to ride her horse first and the race second.

“I actually wouldn’t mind if Guest House did explode from the gates, found the fence and crossed the horse in barrier one. If they left him be, to a point, that would be good.

“It’s difficult to say that in a 16-horse field in a Blue Diamond, because everything goes up a notch as far as race tempo goes, but if he was to lead, I don’t think it’d be a bad thing.”

Big Sky is one of four stakes winners from 83 runners for Darley’s Bivouac (Exceed And Excel), who served 104 mares at $55,000 (inc GST) last spring. The colt will race on the pace, Price said, as he strives to become his sire’s second elite victor after Golden Rose (Gr 1, 1400m) hero Beiwacht.

While he hasn’t blotted his copy book behaviourally like Guest House, Big Sky is no angel either, but in a way a trainer - or a stud master - likes to see.

“Big Sky doesn’t exactly come out and rest on the bridle. He gets a bit cranky if you’re going too slow,” Price said.

“Jordan came and rode him this [Tuesday] morning. Jordan got him pretty well right when he did win on him at his first start, so both my riders have a good understanding of their colts.”

Childs, who won the Blue Diamond on Written By in 2018, goes back into the saddle after Ben Melham, Big Sky’s rider in the Chairman’s, interestingly opts for Clinton McDonald’s filly Streisand (Magnus), an $11 shot who’s drawn gate 12.

Ben Melham has ridden Streisand only in defeat - two seconds and a fifth in the Blue Diamond Preview (Gr 3, 1000m) - while his wife Jamie was aboard for her last start win in the Prelude (Gr 2, 1100m).

“Ben’s got a better relationship with Clinton professionally than he has with me, so I get that, I’ve got no problem with that,” Price said of Melham’s decision.

“Jordan’s one for one on Big Sky. When he goes past him [Melham], that’ll be OK,” he said with a smile.

“I like the preparation Big Sky has had. He’s a horse with enough condition on him, he’s not a big, fat, robust colt that needs to do too much.

“The Chairman’s is well suited for a two-year-old if you want to keep them fresh and looking for something to do into the Blue Diamond. It’s well positioned in that race, and it worked for Extreme Choice.”

As is usually the case with the Blue Diamond, sitting early on the two-year-old calendar as it does, one gnawing question concerns distance.

Big Sky hasn’t been past 1000 metres, while Guest House steps up past 1100 metres for the first time.

“You never really know but I’d be confident Big Sky will handle the trip,” Price said. “He’s not a small barrel little pony. He’s a good lengthy colt, with a good stride and a good set of lungs, and I think 1200 metres will be no trouble.

“Guest House is a bit of a different horse. He’s a big, strong brute, a very forward type of horse, and if you see him in the mounting yard, you’d see how mature and what a lovely specimen he is.

“He’s a different horse to Big Sky. He’s got a good temperament in the barn, but come raceday he tends to get a bit sparky in the brain, which is what a lot of good horses do.

“Like any two-year-old in the Blue Diamond, they just have to get it right. But I think Guest House is no worries at the trip.”

And so to the main question: Which way is Price leaning?

“Guest House runs quicker time in trackwork, but they are different horses and raceday is different to trackwork,” he said.

“Whilst I don’t know for sure which one’s the better horse, I still think Guest House has great capacity about him, and if I have to split them - people ask me to have a pick - then that’s my pick.

“But I could be wrong.”

Ten years on, perhaps he’d settle for another quinella.

Mick Dee, who was aboard Closer To Free when the pair lowered the colours of the short-priced Prelude favourite Guest House (Home Affairs), will aim to continue their fruitful partnership at Caulfield on Saturday and extend his recent dominance of the Blue Diamond, having previously piloted Devil Night (Extreme Choice) and Little Brose (Per Incanto) to victory in 2025 and 2023 respectively.

Perhaps surprisingly, given both the relative comfort of his win that day and his superior raceday manners, Closer To Free still sits just behind Guest House in the early Blue Diamond betting markets, which are led by unbeaten colt Big Sky (Bivouac).  

However, given the high esteem in which he clearly holds Closer To Free, you get the distinct impression that O’Brien - who won the Blue Diamond with globetrotting sprinter Star Witness (Starcraft) back in 2010 - wouldn’t swap his young charge with any other runner in the race.

“He’s a really straightforward colt to train, and the way he handled the occasion on debut was very impressive,” O’Brien told ANZ News. 

“That day at Caulfield he behaved like a gelding having his 20th start, rather than a juvenile colt making his first. Everything went right, and thankfully it’s been the same ever since. He’ll have his final gallop at Flemington on Tuesday morning with Mick Dee in the saddle, which should top him off nicely.             

“As impressive as he was on debut, we do think he’ll improve from his first start and he’ll obviously have to in order to win a race like the Blue Diamond. He’s a big, burly colt so he’ll definitely be fitter for the run, and he couldn’t be in any better shape. 

“He’s very adaptable so he doesn’t have to be ridden up on speed if we don’t draw a good gate, and he’s got a really good brain on him for a two-year-old. He does have good gate speed so we wouldn’t intentionally drag him back, but it wouldn’t be a problem if he needed to sit two or three pairs back in the run if that’s how the race panned out.

“He’s got a serious amount of race craft for a horse with only one start to his name, so he’s been easy to manage and I’m sure he won’t be overawed by the occasion.” 

O’Brien’s swift move to seal a private deal with his fellow trainer Adrian Corboy following Closer To Free’s impressive Caulfield jumpout at the start of the year was motivated in part by a renewed focus on quality over quantity, with that strategy having seen him move on around 40 of his more moderate performers. 

With fewer runners and more time to devote to horses capable of competing in city and stakes races, O’Brien has gradually improved his strike-rate and he currently sits inside the top seven in both Victoria’s metropolitan and statewide trainers’ premiership.   

“We made a conscious decision at the end of last year to scale back our operation,” O’Brien told ANZ News.

“Previously we’d had between 120 and 130 horses in the stable, and we were finding that some of the lower-rated horses were placing a big burden on our staff. We were having to travel them far and wide just to try to get a win, so the reward for effort probably wasn’t worth it.

“It was placing a lot of strain on the business, so we’ve cut back our numbers to around 80 horses in work and it seems to be working well. We wanted to build on our quality and improve our strike rate by focusing more time and effort on our city grade horses, and the easiest way to do that was to move on some of our horses who maybe weren’t able to perform to that level.”

One horse who is undoubtedly capable of competing at an elevated level is Sass Appeal, who treated her Desirable rivals with a degree of disdain to make it three wins on the spin for her large ownership group.

The Kewney Stakes (Gr 2, 1600m) at Flemington on Saturday, March 7 will bring the curtain down on the filly’s first racing prep, with O’Brien keen to test her out in the Group 1 arena in the spring - potentially in a race like the Empire Rose Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) over the Flemington mile. 

Sass Appeal boasts considerable pedigree depth on mum’s side - her third dam Bollinger (Dehere) won three consecutive stakes races, including the Coolmore Classic (Gr 1, 1500m) in the autumn of 2003, while her fourth dam Bint Marscay (Marscay) claimed the Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m) ten years prior.

Allied to the filly’s natural athleticism, that premium lineage held plenty of appeal for O’Brien and persuaded him to pay $120,000 for Lot 188 from the Vinery Stud draft at the 2024 Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale. 

Despite some slightly unruly barrier manners which required correction, that investment has proved particularly sound and, should Sass Appeal extend her winning streak to four in the Kewney, the VRC might need to restock the champagne fridge in the winning owners’ bar given the size of her 45-strong syndicate. 

“She’s still lightly-raced and we think there’s a lot to come with this filly,” O’Brien told ANZ News. 

“She’s always looked very promising but we just had to hold her back a little, she’s a big framed filly and she also had some early issues in the barriers. So we didn’t get her to the races in the spring as we had initially intended, but that might have been the making of her. She’s gone through her grades really nicely over the summer months, and it was great to see her take the step up to stakes company last Saturday. 

“We’re nowhere near finding out what she might be capable of, and hopefully she can continue to go on with it in the Kewney. We think sticking to her own sex is a much more sensible option than taking her to a race like the Australian Guineas, which is likely to attract some talented colts who are much more seasoned than her at the highest level. 

“That will be her grand final, five runs is a decent enough preparation for a filly having her first campaign. If we can send her to the paddock with another stakes win under her belt, that will top off what’s already been a great prep. 

“There’s plenty to look forward to with her as a four-year-old in the spring and next autumn. From our experience with So You Think progeny you don’t often see the best of them until they turn four, so we’re hoping that’s the case with her.”

On the same day as the Kewney, Sea What I See (Sea The Stars) is set to contest the Matron Stakes (Gr 3, 1600m), a race O’Brien won in 2021 with Sovereign Award (Shamus Award). Sea What I See, who previously spent 12 months on the sidelines due to a pelvic stress fracture, made a rousing return to action at the weekend when the grey mare finished runner-up in the Frances Tressady Stakes (Gr 3, 1400m).

With his high-class filly Getta Good Feeling (So You Think) also eyeing a return to the races one week later, there would appear to be plenty of firepower at O’Brien’s disposal this autumn. 

“I thought Sea What I See was terrific at the weekend,” said O’Brien.

“She went into the spring after having a year off between runs, and considering that she performed very well. She had that residual fitness already, and that clearly benefitted her on Saturday. It looks like she’s in for a really good autumn prep so we’ll take her to the Matron Stakes at Flemington in three weeks’ time, and then look to step her up in trip after that. 

“Get A Good Feeling had a busy spring campaign so we gave her a decent break, and she’ll have her first run in the Inglis race for three-year-olds on Australian Guineas Day. 

“She’ll have a couple of runs in Melbourne and then we’ll look to take her to Adelaide for the Australasian Oaks, so hopefully we can knock off a Group 1 with her this prep. It’s a busy time of the year and there’s a lot to look forward to in the near future, hopefully we can keep the momentum going for a while yet.”