COOLMORE has purchased a controlling interest in unbeaten Golden Slipper winner Vancouver, trained by Gai Waterhouse in Australia, in a deal believed to value the two-year-old at over A$40 million.

That makes Vancouver the most expensive Golden Slipper winner ever sold for stud and comes hot on the heels of Coolmore and the China Horse Club’s buy into Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum’s Australian Group 1-winning juvenile Pride Of Dubai.

Coolmore revealed on Thursday that it had won the race to purchase a controlling interest in Vancouver, who has earned A$2.33m in four starts to date, including his Golden Slipper win, the most valuable juvenile race in the world.

“There was obviously a massive amount of interest in the horse so we are delighted to have secured him,” said Coolmore’s Tom Magnier.

“He’s a brilliant colt and we and our partners, who include the China Horse Club, Ramsey Pastoral and Peters Investments, couldn’t be more excited about his future.

“Vancouver, along with another of our recent investments, Pride Of Dubai, serve to illustrate the long-term commitment of Coolmore to the Australian breeding industry,” he said.