The connections of Blind Raise hold aspirations of the colt being a major player in upcoming spring features, with his campaign set to commence at Sandown.
The Listed McKenzie Stakes (1300m) on Saturday is seen as a potential stepping stone to a Group 1 contest, or possibly two, in Melbourne and Sydney.
The Caulfield Guineas (1600m) on October 10 and the Spring Champion Stakes (2000m) at Randwick two weeks later are on the radar for the Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young-trained galloper.
However, the colt must first navigate Saturday’s event successfully.
Busuttin noted that the distance at Sandown was a key factor in the decision to use it as a starting point.
The meeting on Saturday is a Moonee Valley Racing Club fixture. Had the race been held at The Valley, it would have been run over 1200 metres.
With the track undergoing a rebuild, the fixture has been moved to Sandown.
“He’s forward enough to run well,” Busuttin said.
“If this race was 1200 metres, we’d be waiting for the Mike Moroney (1400m at Flemington on Saturday week), so the way it has fallen, 1300 metres at Sandown, it’s perfect first-up. He’ll be strong late.”
Blind Raise won his first two starts, both over 1400m, before venturing to Queensland where he finished midfield in the BRC Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m).
“He pulled up full of mucus up there,” Busuttin stated.
“It was too bad to be true, so we didn’t push on and he had a month off up there. If they’re running in Queensland, they can only have two or three weeks off, but it appears to help them being up there. Years ago, everyone used to do it, and for whatever reason people stopped, but now they’ve gone back to doing it. Does it do them any good, I don’t know. If they’re a good horse, they can come from anywhere.”
Busuttin is eager to discover the true calibre of Blind Raise this campaign.
He indicated that the Caulfield Guineas is the logical race to aim for.
“But you have to get there,” Busuttin added.
“The Caulfield Guineas, then the Spring Champion Stakes, that might be a nice race for him, but in a perfect world, he will end up in the Caulfield Guineas.”
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