Webjet’s Guscic makes Royal Entrance into Newgate-China Horse Club colts fund

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Group 1-winning owner embracing breeding and racing under Aristia Park Bloodstock banner

International businessman John Guscic’s extensive investment in Australian thoroughbred breeding and racing, fuelled by the euphoria of a VRC Oaks (Gr 1, 2500m) win in 2018 by Aristia (Lonhro), is off to a flying start.

The Webjet managing director, whose burgeoning thoroughbred interests fall under the Aristia Park Bloodstock banner in honour of his Group 1-winning filly, is reaping the rewards of his decision to link with the powerful Newgate Farm-China Horse Club colts partnership earlier this year.

Guscic’s name, under Aristia Park Bloodstock, features alongside numerous other industry participants in the Henry Field-led syndicate of two-year-old colts, a group which has already unleashed Breeders’ Plate (Gr 3, 1000m) winner Empire Of Japan (Snitzel) and Magic Millions Wyong 2YO Classic (RL, 1100m) winner Sovereign Fund (Capitalist).

And yesterday, Guscic and his fellow owners unveiled another potential Magic Millions 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m) contender in first starter Royal Entrance (Snitzel), a $425,000 Arrowfield Stud-bred colt who held off all challengers in a juvenile race at Warwick Farm.

The Peter and Paul Snowden-trained Snapback, another colt by Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice), was runner-up at Randwick last Saturday for the same connections.

“John started off as a small-time owner with First Light Racing. He was in Aristia, famously, and that gave him his Group 1 success as an owner and since then his next frontier is to breed a Group 1 winner,” syndicator Tim Wilson of First Light Racing said yesterday. 

“He works very closely with Ashleigh [Dowley, First Light’s bloodstock manager] from our team and he’s accumulated a broodmare band of about 25 over the past three years and he’s already had a lot of success selling out of those mares.”

Guscic sold a Savabeel (Zabeel) colt out of Gold Rush (So You Think) – a mare he bought in 2020 through the Magic Millions Rosemont Stud Exclusive Online Sale – through the Newhaven Park draft at the Magic Millions last January to China Horse Club, Newgate and Trilogy Racing. 

Not only was it a profitable trade for the breeder but one which led to him keeping a share in the colt, the now Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Gold Bullion, a stablemate of Royal Entrance.

“He sold a really nice Savabeel colt out of a mare called Gold Rush – he bought Gold Rush for $295,000 online, she was one of the first mares he bought – when she was in foal to Savabeel,” Wilson said.

“He sold the Savabeel at Magic Millions in January for $400,000 and Henry bought him as one of his colts for the fund, so that was exciting getting Henry’s endorsement of the quality of foal that we are breeding for John. 

“I have known Henry through First Light and once he bought the colt, one thing led to another and John has taken an active interest in the Newgate stallion fund. 

“With his 25 mares, he’s probably sending six, seven or eight to Newgate every year and he has bought into Profiteer, he has bought into [Newhaven Park’s] Mo’unga, he bought into Anders [at Widden].

“John’s just broadening his horizons to ultimately support his broodmare band who all reside at Aristia Park [at Koo Wee Rup].”

The relationship between Newgate Farm’s Henry Field, S F Bloodstock’s Gavin Murphy and Guscic, who also has a share in Rosemont Stud stallion Hanseatic (Street Boss), was solidified at a Sydney-Geelong Australian rules football game at the Sydney Cricket Ground in March. 

“John’s a mad Cats supporter, so he took Henry and Gavin along to Sydney versus Geelong,” Wilson said. 

“Buddy [Lance Franklin, Sydney Swans player] kicked his 1,000th goal and everyone was giving it to John and a great friendship was born.”

The Guscic-bred Gold Bullion, who ran third behind Flying Trapeze (Trapeze Artist) and Empire Of Japan in a Randwick barrier trial on September 19, is back in training at Randwick with Waterhouse and Bott and Wilson hopes the juvenile can add to the colts fund’s sensational run of success so far this season.

“We are hoping the best of them is the one John bred, Gold Bullion. He jumped out [barrier trialled] really stylishly when they were on the Breeders’ Plate path,” he said.

“Being by Savabeel, he wasn’t ready for those really early two-year-old races, but we’d love to see him measure up in the autumn in a race like the [ATC] Sires or the Champagne [Stakes], which would be aspirational targets for Gold Bullion.”

Empire Of Japan, who is trained by Peter and Paul Snowden, is slated to resume in the Drinkwise Plate (1100m) at Randwick on Saturday before heading to the Gold Coast for the $2 million Magic Millions 2YO Classic. 

Royal Entrance could also be headed north following his determined debut victory yesterday. 

“Henry Field is here today to see the colt and witness the win,” said Bott. “That was what we wanted to be able to see to give us that option. 

“There is a path there for him so we will see how we come through it. I’m sure Henry would like to have another nice colt up there for the syndicate.” 

Royal Entrance made the most of his inside draw under Regan Bayliss, just edging out Denman Star (Denman) in a tight finish.

“[We thought] having the inside and the fence to follow would help him a lot because as you saw today he is still a little bit raw, a little bit new,” Bott said.

“He took a bit of urging from Regan but he was able to get the best out of him and great effort from the colt to continually pick himself up and keep fighting.”