A $750,000 staying event at Caulfield is simply too enticing for the Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young team to sidestep.
Stable star Brayden Star is therefore bound for the Group 2 Zipping Classic (2400m) at Caulfield on Saturday, even though Busuttin freely admits the Listed Pakenham Cup (2500m) on December 13 shapes as the more suitable assignment.
Last December, Brayden Star captured the Group 2 Herbert Power Stakes over the same course and distance before progressing to the Moonee Valley Gold Cup (2500m) and then the Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2600m) at Flemington across Melbourne Cup week.
Initially, the plan was to freshen the gelding and aim him straight at the Pakenham feature, but a strong workout at Cranbourne on Saturday morning convinced the trainers that he might need a run beforehand.
“I think the Pakenham Cup is a good race for him, but he does very well the horse,” Busuttin said.
“He had a gallop, and we were in two minds whether we go to the Zipping, probably knowing he’s not a winning chance, or go straight to Pakenham knowing it was softer for him.
“But the way he pulled up after the gallop, after having a week in the paddock after Flemington, he was blowing, so we might have to send him around in the Zipping.
“It’s alright to have a spin around in a $750,000 race and I’m sure he’ll weigh-in and pick up some of it (prize money), but it’s probably just beyond his grasp at weight-for-age.”
Busuttin is confident that dropping back slightly in trip to 2400m on Saturday is a plus for Brayden Star and is not concerned in the slightest if rain arrives.
He added that the line-up for the Zipping Classic is likely to contain many of the same rivals Brayden Star has been clashing with throughout his recent campaign.
At his latest Flemington outing over 2600m, Brayden Star loomed as though he was going to fight out the placings, but jockey Tim Clark felt the final part of the staying test just stretched him on the heavy surface.
“I thought he was going to charge and run third, but Tim Clark got off him and said the 2600 metres found him out a little bit on the wet track,” Busuttin said.
“We thought he would climb into two miles, but you can only go on what those good riders say, and you have to listen to them.
“He’s won on a heavy 10 in June at Sandown, so a wet track won’t bother him, but it probably made it like a 2800-metre race.”
Looking further ahead, Busuttin is weighing up a trip across the Tasman with Brayden Star to contest the Auckland Cup (3200m) in March.
Earlier this year, Busuttin and Young travelled Thedoctoroflove to New Zealand where he finished runner-up in the New Zealand Derby.
“Even though it goes against what Tim (Clark) said, it is a $750,000 race,” Busuttin said.
“It’s good stake money over there now, it’s just the reverse way.”
If you are thinking of having a punt on the Zipping Classic or the summer staying races that follow, make sure you compare odds and offers across the best Australian betting sites before you bet.