Expat New Zealand trainers Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young came close to winning the Group 1 Spring Champion Stakes (2000m) with Sangster and they are hoping to rectify that loss nearly a decade later. The son of Savabeel was owned by Real Estate mogul Tommy Heptinstall whose colours will be worn in this year’s edition of the race by Albarado and Wertheimer.
“Sangster was the first decent horse we brought over to Australia and he ran in that race and ran an unlucky third, so it would be nice to go up there and rectify it in the same colours,” Busuttin said.
Busuttin has a lot of time for Wertheimer, who he said was luckless when sixth in the Victoria Derby Trial (1800m) at Flemington last start. “Wertheimer was extremely unlucky last start and he is improving all the time. He will head up there and be very hard to beat,” Busuttin said.
Stablemate Albarado will head into Saturday off the back of a third-placing in the Listed Super Impose Stakes (1800m) at Flemington last weekend. “Albarado is still a colt with a nice enough pedigree, by Savabeel,” Busuttin said. “The Spring Champion Stakes is a Group 1 and worth a million dollars. He went well on Saturday and is a big, strong colt who will cop the back-up. “I am very happy with both of them.”
Closer to home, the Cranbourne stable will line-up Tavirun in the Listed Cranbourne Cup (2025m) at their home track on Sunday. “It’s a nice race for him, worth $400,000, and away from the better horses,” Busuttin said. “Although this year I would say it will be a pretty good running of the race. “It’s our new hometown Cup, so it would be nice to win it.”
Meanwhile, Busuttin and Young are contemplating their next steps with talented four-year-old Sierra Sue after her impressive win in the Group 2 Rose of Kingston Stakes (1400m) at Flemington on Saturday. “Sierra Sue stepped up from benchmark racing into a Group 2, which is hard to do, but she did it with ease,” Busuttin said.
“She will now continue on to either the Empire Rose Stakes (Group 1, 1600m) at the end of the month, or the Golden Eagle (A$7.5 million, 1500m) on the same day. “We will weigh it up right at the end. It’s easy to say a Group 1 for her pedigree, but she has got plenty of time to go and at the end of the day it is a A$4 million winner’s prize for the Golden Eagle and they only get one chance to race in it as a four-year-old. “It takes a lot of Group 1s to jump into A$4 million.”
Sierra Sue was purchased by former trainer Peter Lock out of Ardsley Stud’s 2019 New Zealand Bloodstock May Sale for $2,000 before bloodstock agent Phill Cataldo purchased her out of the trials on behalf of Busuttin and Young.