Busuttin eyes Guineas improvement from Blind Raise

Trent Busuttin expects further improvement from Blind Raise in Saturday’s Caulfield Guineas as the Ace High gelding heads into his third run this spring.

Busuttin trains the gelding with partner Natalie Young. Blind Raise has won both starts this preparation, taking the Listed McKenzie Stakes at Sandown before a 2¾-length victory in the Group 3 Caulfield Guineas Prelude on September 19.

Busuttin outlined the horse’s history of respiratory symptoms on Thursday’s Giddy Up with Gareth Hall.

“He’s always been prone to, I guess, the equivalent of asthma for humans. Always just had a bit of a cold or a mucus down his throat,” he said.

His coat had also been below the stable’s expectations earlier in the preparation.

“He’s gleaming, and he’s a pretty happy horse himself,” Busuttin said.

The trainer said Blake Shinn will have flexibility from the inside draw, with Busuttin leaving the jockey to judge his position near the speed.

“He’s always nice to take a sit and be peeling off something’s back, no question,” Busuttin said. “It wouldn’t worry me to see him in front.”

The Cox Plate two weeks later remains a consideration, depending on Saturday’s result.

“But yeah, if he runs well, or if he wins or goes close to it or whatever, we’d certainly be having a good hard look at it,” Busuttin said.