Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young are eyeing rich autumn races with Uncle Bryn who is about to return to work following a successful spring.
The $5 million All-Star Mile (1600m) at Moonee Valley on March 18 is the first race on the agenda with the potential to then head to the Group 1 Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington the following week.
Busuttin and Young were chasing a Group 1 Caulfield Cup start during the spring, but after finishing second in the Group 3 Naturalism Stakes (2000m) and then finishing second last in the Group 1 Toorak Handicap (1600m), they decided to lessen their horizons.
Uncle Bryn bounced back to form with a win in the Listed Sale Cup (1600m) on October 23 while at his last start he took out the Listed Cranbourne Cup (1600m) on November 12.
The gelding was sent straight to the paddock following the Cranbourne win and is set to enter the Busuttin and Young stable shortly, following a week at the water walker.
Uncle Bryn and stablemate He’s Our Bonneval had been entered for races during the Perth Carnival, but the trainers elected to stay home with those autumn goals in mind.
“The autumn rolls around very quickly,” Busuttin said.
“The aim is the All-Star Mile, hopefully, and then onto the Australian Cup.”
Busuttin said no plans are confirmed on how the stable would get Uncle Bryn to the All-Star Mile 2023.
He said logical races include the Group 1 Orr Stakes (1400m) at Sandown on February 11 and the Group 1 Futurity Stakes (1400m) at Sandown two weeks later.
“There is the Orr and the Futurity but there’s an open 1400-metre at Flemington a week after the Orr and then you’ve got the Blamey Stakes also at Flemington,” Busuttin said.
“There are options there to get him to the All-Star Mile and then hopefully on to the Australian Cup.
“He’s got to lift, but I think he is a horse that is up to that potentially because when they have a turn of foot like he does, they can win a big race.”
Having missed taking He’s Our Bonneval to Perth, Busuttin said the gelding would run at Sandown next Saturday in benchmark 84 company over 1400m.
