Last start winner and early favourite Shaiyhar is not guaranteed to be a starter in the staying race at Flemington on Saturday.
The Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young -trained galloper is among acceptors for the Murray Cox Handicap (2540m), but Busuttin said he was not sure whether to start the stayer.
Shaiyhar recorded an impressive win over 2000m at Flemington on June 3 and is keen for the stayer to have his next start again at Flemington.
“We’ll probably run him, but we’re in two minds whether to run him two weeks between runs or whether to go a month to the 2600-metre race on July 1,” Busuttin said.
“Looking at the field on Saturday, the first impression is there are a lot of hurdlers in there and he’s drawn 18 out of 18 (with emergencies in the field) and 14 out of 14 from where he’d start.
“It would be hard not to run him in that field, but I’ll do the right thing by the horse.
“It’s an off-season race, so you don’t want to be getting carried away, but if you want to get into better races, he’s got to be winning races and get his rating up.”
Shaiyhar was posted the $4.60 favourite when betting markets opened on Wednesday.
Busuttin said he was mindful of not overtaxing Shaiyhar but at the same time getting the stayer’s rating up to contest a better grade of race.
One such race could be Group 3 The Bart Cummings (2500m) at Flemington in October which carries with it a ‘win and you’re in’ ballot exemption into the Melbourne Cup.
Busuttin said he would prefer to keep Shaiyhar racing on the bigger tracks around Australia.
“I don’t think he’d be a Caulfield Cup horse,” Busuttin said.
“I think he’d be a dead-set two-mile horse and I think he’d be a big track horse.
“It’s still a long way away, but The Bart Cummings would be an ideal race for him. A 2500-metre race.
“He may not even have to get to the top level, who knows, but races worth $1 million, $750,000, we’ll take them every day of the week.
“It’s still very good money.”