Trainers Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young are looking forward to lining up Savvy Lad (NZ) (Savabeel) in the Rubaroc Handicap (1410m) at Flemington on Saturday after his pleasing first-up run at Caulfield last month.
The Savabeel four-year-old finished third behind Mystery Shot (Shooting To Win) and Wicklow Town (Clanford Cliffs) over 1400m and his connections are hoping he can break through for his first win in Australia this weekend.
“Savvy Lad was unlucky first-up, he got beaten by a couple of smart horses, but he ran third after copping a severe check at the 600m and was only beaten by a length and a bit,” Busuttin told RSN927.
“They were good horses that finished in front of him.
“He is dropping back to a (BenchMark) 70 (on Saturday) so I would say he will be very hard to beat on a big Flemington track.”
Savvy Lad won two starts in New Zealand for former trainers Matthew and Michael Pitman, but disappointed in his first two Australian runs for the Busuttin-Young team.
“He trialled up excellently and Damian Oliver gave him good reviews and he went to the races and jarred up badly at Caulfield first-up,” Busuttin said.
“We probably should have put him in the paddock, but we pushed on with him a bit and he felt it second up so we gave him a good break.
“He has come back really well and there is a nice race for him somewhere in the spring.”
