By Bren O'Brien
Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young will tackle Saturday's $200,000 Magic Millions Clockwise Classic at Ballarat with a pair of 2-year-olds from opposite ends of the price scale.
Busuttin and Young bought the colt Testino (Shooting To Win) and filly Charvet (Zoustar) at this year's Gold Coast Magic Millions Sale, paying $50,000 for Testino and $525,000, in concert with bloodstock agent Cameron Cooke, for Charvet.
Busuttin was taken by Charvet the moment he saw her on the Gold Coast and feels that she will take a lot of improvement from her 2-year-old campaign with a view to top-class races when she turns three.
"She was a magnificent filly. She was one of the best fillies at the sale. She's not a classic 2-year-old by any means. She'll be an outstanding 3-year old filly over 1400m and 1600m. She's very classy," he said.
Charvet as a yearling
"It's a $200,000 race, it will give her a bit of experience, she's drawn one and will be very hard to beat."
"It will give her a bit of experience, she's drawn one and will be very hard to beat." - Trent Busuttin
While her best may be 12 months' away, Charvet showed her precocity in winning a jumpout the clockwise way of going at Ballarat late last month.
Busuttin expects her to push up from that inside barrier on Saturday and either set the pace or sit close at hand.
"She'll jump and either lead, depends if there is a bit of speed outside of us, from Gai's horse (Not a Royal Doubt) and the horse of Hayes that has been to the races (Ancestry),"
"They’ve drawn eight and nine. They'll obviously have to get across and cross us or we will try and hold the rail. If she can lead comfortably and hold the rail, she’ll be doing that, otherwise she’ll take a sit in behind them."
Charvet is out of multiple Group 2 winner Satinka (NZ) (Stravinsky {USA}), the half-sister to black-type winner She Wishes, who is the dam of multiple Group 1 winner Rangirangdoo.
Satinka herself was twice a winner at 2, including the Group 2 Breeders S. at Matamata.
Too cheap to refuse
Testino's dam, Oridane (King of Danes), is also a black-type winner as a 2-year-old, winning the Listed Dequetteville S. at Morphettville.
However, the colt was less than 10 per cent of the purchase price of Charvet, something which Busuttin said he couldn’t resist at the time.
"He's developed into a nice horse, he's had a couple of jumpouts and won the one at Ballarat." - Trent Busuttin
"He wasn't the most correct horse at the sales. I liked him on type. We knew we would get him cheap, so we bought him to have a crack at the Magic Millions," he said.
Testino as a yearling
"He's developed into a nice horse, he's had a couple of jumpouts and won the one at Ballarat. It's a $200,000 race, it’s a restricted race and he'll run well in it."
"He's only had two jumpouts, so every time he steps out of those gates, he's going to improve."
Jamie Kah takes the ride on Testino and from barrier 5 and like his stablemate, Busuttin expects will not be far away from the pace.
More Magic on horizon?
Young and Busuttin will assess how both horses perform on Saturday before deciding whether they then target the $2 million Magic Millions 2YO Classic on the Gold Coast in January.
"You certainly wouldn't say no. You just let them tell you how far along they will get. If they need to get to the paddock at any stage, they will be out there. It would be certainly nice to have a runner there if they are a chance," he said.
Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young
Busuttin admitted that he would more likely tread a cautious path with the expensive filly Charvet, with a view to bigger plans down the track.
"The first sign she is looking for the paddock she'll will be there. Because of what you paid for him, you feel like you can push the envelope a little more," he said.
