The traditional venue for Flemington’s Derby and Oaks previews has this year shifted its racing program.
This year, the two classic previews have been combined into a single event, scheduled to take place at Caulfield on Saturday, maintaining the customary 1800-meter distance.
The Cranbourne-based training partnership of Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young is set to field two contenders in the HKJC World Pool Classics Preview (1800m) this Saturday: Arashi Flash and Icy You.
Both runners are coming off recent victories and are being prepared with the Group 1 Victoria Derby (2500m) at Flemington next month as their ultimate goal.
Arashi Flash demonstrated his suitability for the longer distance when he secured a win over 1547m at Geelong on August 28. Meanwhile, Icy You, following a second-place debut on the synthetic track at Pakenham, achieved a win over 1600m at Echuca on August 30.
“This race is a nice lead-up,” Young said.
“Arashi Flash, he won really nicely at Geelong, and he’s ticked over nicely through it.
“If you are heading towards a Derby trip, and he is a horse that is out of a Zabeel mare, it is a nice progression.
“Icy You, he ran second on the synthetic at his first start and then won well at Echuca.
“He may not have beaten great competition, but he did it easy and Froggy (Craig Newitt) was looking back over his shoulder.
“He’s worked up super and he has to get around Caulfield, but he’s bred to get out to that sort of trip.
“It’s nice to have those sorts of horses at this time of year heading down that Derby path.”
Young indicated that the stable would gain valuable insight from the pair’s performances on Saturday to determine if it would be beneficial to target other Derby lead-up races in the upcoming weeks.
“There is the Super Impose Stakes coming up, there is the Caulfield Classic, there’s the Geelong Classic,” Young said.
“They are all nice races, and this is progression to those, but they have to put their hands up to show they are up to city grade.
“You can’t win it, if you’re not in it.”
Looking to back a winner in the HKJC World Pool Classics Preview? Check out the latest Australian betting sites for the best odds.