Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young once had high hopes for Derivative to feature in the Magic Millions 2YO Classic, but a disappointing debut saw plans shift course.

After a break and some strong performances in trials, the promising colt is set to resume in the Sportsbet Jockey Watch Handicap (1000m) at Sandown on Saturday.

By Capitalist, Derivative had caught the stable’s eye with a Cranbourne jump-out win followed by a successful trial at Warwick Farm in December, before heading to Queensland with ambitions of making the Magic Millions field.

However, a poor getaway in his debut run at Eagle Farm on December 28 dashed those hopes.

“He’s a horse I’ve got a lot of time for,” Busuttin said.

“He showed a lot of promise in the lead up to the Magic Millions, so we took him up there to run in one of the qualifying races, but he missed the start and got it all wrong.

“So, we brought him home, gave him a spell and he’s trialled up well to run on Saturday.”

This weekend’s event is part of the Next Generation Sprinters Series, with the top two finishers earning a place in the 1200m final at Flemington on July 5.

Busuttin admits he would have preferred a slightly longer race first-up.

“I would probably have preferred this race to be 1100 or 1200 metres, but I don’t think there’s too much coming up,” he said.

“This is part of the two-year-old series with a final at Flemington, and that’s the road I’m thinking of at the moment with him.

“I’m sure he’ll acquit himself well on Saturday and then we can have a think about that race at Flemington and may be after that freshen him up for some of the early spring races, but he is a horse that I do like.”