A rich $750,000 staying race at Caulfield has proved too big a lure for the Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young operation to ignore.
As a result, Brayden Star will take his place in Saturday’s Group 2 Zipping Classic (2400m) at Caulfield, even though Busuttin believes the Listed Pakenham Cup (2500m) on December 13 is ultimately a better fit for the gelding.
The stayer announced himself last summer when winning the Group 2 Herbert Power Stakes over the same course and distance, before tackling the Moonee Valley Gold Cup (2500m) and then stepping up again in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2600m) at Flemington during the Melbourne Cup Carnival.
After his Cup week efforts, the training team had mapped out a program that would see Brayden Star go straight into the Pakenham Cup, but a searching gallop at Cranbourne on Saturday has forced them to reassess.
“I think the Pakenham Cup is a good race for him, but he does very well the horse,” Busuttin said.
“He had a gallop, and we were in two minds whether we go to the Zipping, probably knowing he’s not a winning chance, or go straight to Pakenham knowing it was softer for him.
“But the way he pulled up after the gallop, after having a week in the paddock after Flemington, he was blowing, so we might have to send him around in the Zipping.
“It’s alright to have a spin around in a $750,000 race and I’m sure he’ll weigh-in and pick up some of it (prize money), but it’s probably just beyond his grasp at weight-for-age.”
Busuttin feels that a high-pressure 2600m at Flemington on a heavy track may have just tested Brayden Star’s limits and that coming back to 2400m in the Zipping Classic is more in his sweet spot.
He expects that the opposition he faces on Saturday will be familiar, with many of the same horses from his recent races likely to front up again at Caulfield.
In his most recent start, Brayden Star travelled into the race strongly and looked set to grab a minor placing over 2600m, only to peak late on the testing ground, a point reinforced by jockey Tim Clark post-race.
“I thought he was going to charge and run third, but Tim Clark got off him and said the 2600 metres found him out a little bit on the wet track,” Busuttin said.
“We thought he would climb into two miles, but you can only go on what those good riders say, and you have to listen to them.
“He’s won on a heavy 10 in June at Sandown, so a wet track won’t bother him, but it probably made it like a 2800-metre race.”
Beyond the domestic summer features, the stable is eyeing an autumn raid on New Zealand, with the Auckland Cup (3200m) in March looming as a logical goal for Brayden Star.
Busuttin and Young are no strangers to travelling horses across the ditch, having campaigned Thedoctoroflove earlier in the year to finish second in the New Zealand Derby.
“Even though it goes against what Tim (Clark) said, it is a $750,000 race,” Busuttin said.
“It’s good stake money over there now, it’s just the reverse way.”
For those planning a wager on the Zipping Classic or future staying events like the Pakenham Cup and Auckland Cup, it pays to shop around with the best Australian betting sites before placing your bets.
