Trent Busuttin knows, if chasing a Group 1 win was the priority with Blind Raise, the smart thing to do would be send him to Sydney for this Saturday’s Spring Champion Stakes.
But he also knows the opportunity he has been presented with this year does not come around that often.
Hence, the Caulfield Guineas runner-up, who he trains in partnership with Natalie Young, will run in this Saturday’s $6 million Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m).
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The son of Ace High is yet to win at Group 1 level and would most likely start a hot favourite in the $2 million Spring Champion Stakes (2000m) at Randwick, but he will instead renew hostilities with his Guineas conqueror Warwoven at Flemington.
“The sensible thing would have been to go up to Sydney for the $2 million race, but you very rarely get a genuine live chance in a Cox Plate,” Busuttin said.
“I think they’ve got him at 10/1, he is a genuine chance in it, so you’ve got to have a go.”
Blind Raise and the Bjorn Baker-trained Warwoven — who will each carry 49.5kg in the Cox Plate, with Jamie Melham to ride Blind Raise — are out to become the first three-year-olds since Shamus Award in 2013 to win Australia’s weight-for-age championship.
Established stars Sir Delius, Aeliana and Birdman are confirmed rivals, Ceolwulf is likely to back-up after his King Charles III Stakes second placing, while a decision on whether beaten Caulfield Cup favourite Cosmic Crusader backs up will be made on Tuesday.
Fillies Global Goal and Proxima Dea head betting for the Spring Champion Stakes, which on Monday morning attracted 11 entries, including Chris Waller-trained colts Stormy Marco, Diameter, Central Europe and Wonka.
The Caulfield Guineas was just the sixth start, and first beyond 1400m, for Blind Raise but Busuttin knew the day after the race he had taken little harm from it and has been delighted with his work since.
“It was obviously a hard race last week but he came home and he ate everything, licked the feed bin clean, trotted out free in the morning, we took him for a walk and he was squealing and carrying on then got in the roll box and carried on,” Busuttin said.
“So it was pretty safe that he’d come through it good and then he galloped Saturday morning and galloped up very, very good.”
The field for this year’s unique Cox Plate, which will be run at Flemington with Moonee Valley under reconstruction, will be finalised on Tuesday night when barriers are drawn at a function in Melbourne.
