Many trainers with a promising young horse often have the allure of a significant spring race firmly in their sights.
This sentiment is certainly shared by Cranbourne-based trainers Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr.
With Golden Slipper winner Guest House already earmarked for ambitious targets, they are eager to see Buggsy follow a similar path towards spring success.
However, the immediate priority is to assess Buggsy’s condition in his first start back at Sandown on Saturday, competing in the Chef’s Hat Handicap (1000m).
Buggsy made a winning debut over the same course and distance in March and followed this with a third-place finish in the Listed Redoute’s Choice Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield on April 11.
Kent Jnr has observed that Buggsy has ‘come of age’ this campaign.
“He won track and distance on debut, albeit very greenly, and he had probably come to the end of his prep when he ran third in a Listed race,” Kent Jnr explained.
“Whilst he only got beaten a length and ran third, I thought there was a bit more there and that he had come to the end of it by then, so we gave him a nice break, and have set him for the spring.
“He’s trialled up well and I think there’s improvement to come. His trackrider thinks the run will bring him on and it’s hard to disagree with him.
“He’s a strong colt but I think he’s forward enough for 1000 metres.”
Although Kent Jnr believes Buggsy is fit enough to race and potentially win over 1000m on Saturday, he highlighted the challenges involved in preparing the colt on tracks that have been affected by rain.
“It’s the same every spring,” Kent Jnr remarked.
“We’re ducking and diving, avoiding Polytrack trials and waiting for the grass, but we’ve had a pretty good run with him.
“He’s had two good grass trials, he went well in the second one when he went head and head with a Group 1 filly from New Zealand (Lara Antipova) and they cleared out from third.
“He’s a sprinting colt. We don’t think we’ll get him out to a mile this preparation.
“That’s our feel at the moment and the obvious races beckon if he goes well on Saturday.”
Craig Williams, who rode Buggsy to his inaugural victory, will be reunited with the colt for Saturday’s race.
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