Grand plans for Guillotine

Trainer David Payne believes hitherto unheralded three-year-old Guillotine will have even more stamina than his Melbourne Cup-winning half-brother Efficient.

The assessment comes just two days before Guillotine kicks off his AJC Australian Derby campaign in Saturday's Group One Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m) at Randwick.

"He should actually have more stamina because his stallion Montjeu had more stamina than Zabeel," Payne said.

"All going well he could possibly be a Melbourne Cup horse in the spring. That's what we're hoping for."

A two-time Group One winner over 2400m in Europe, Montjeu has also sired Epsom Derby winners. Zabeel did not win a major staying race but has produced a string of high-class stayers including Might And Power, Jezabeel and Sky Heights.

Payne's original Derby campaign for Guillotine, which like Efficient is grey in colour, did not include a start in the Chipping Norton but an awful barrier in a 1500m race at Rosehill last week forced the trainer's hand.

"We thought it would be a gut buster. But we always had this in the back of our mind if we wanted to run him," Payne told Sportal.

Guillotine, whose career-best run was an unlucky fourth in last year's Champagne Stakes, will run in next Saturday's Randwick Guineas (1600m) before tackling the Rosehill Guineas (2000m) a fortnight later en route to the $1.8million Derby on April 26.

A $263,000 purchase as a yearling, Guillotine's stud value will skyrocket if he can win any of those three races this autumn.

"You could start talking $10million maybe more being a Group One half brother to a Melbourne Cup winner. He's a Montjeu which is sought after," he said.

Not surprisingly, Payne and the colt's owners are now thankful they did not geld Guillotine, a decision which was made prior to Efficient's Group One-winning feats.

Guillotine will get his opportunity to emulate his older sibling's achievements later this year when Payne sets him for the Melbourne Cup.