Predator eyes Tulloch Stakes 2016

Lightly raced New Zealand gelding Predator will need to win the Tulloch Stakes to get a shot at upsetting Tarzino in the ATC Australian Derby.

Trainer Trent Busuttin said the form from the New Zealand Derby, where Predator finished seventh, bodes well for his horse going in to Saturday’s Group Two contest at Rosehill.

“He’ll definitely run well. We’ll find out a bit more about the horse on Saturday,” Busuttin said.

If that extra information proves to be a win, the Derby would become irresistible.

“If he won it would be hard not to pay the late entrance fee into the Derby,” Busuttin said.

Predator is on the fifth line of betting for the Tulloch at $13, with the market headed by Godolphin horse Old North at $3.80 and the Gai Waterhouse-trained River Wild at $4.40.

Busuttin said his gelding handled the travel well after arriving in Sydney on Wednesday night.

“He’s been eating up and we’ve done a bit of quiet cantering,” Busuttin told AAP.

Tarzino is an odds-on favourite for the Australian Derby at Randwick, but outside of him Busuttin believes this year’s three-year-old crop is evenly matched.

The stable’s other Derby hope Tavago will travel to Australia next week after a luckless sixth in the New Zealand Derby.

“He got flattened going out of the straight, was three lengths last and flew home,” Busuttin said.

“He arguably should have won the race.”

This will be the last time Busuttin has to launch an assault on the Sydney carnival from across the Tasman.

Busuttin and partner Natalie Young will close their Cambridge stables when they move to Cranbourne in July.

“We’ve got a good team of owners and some nice young horses, both two-year-olds and yearlings,” Busuttin said.

The duo will initially have 40 boxes at Cranbourne with an option to increase that number.

 

Article from JustHorseRacing.com.au

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