The Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young stable received some minor consolation for the injury to Uncle Bryn with the victory of Muramasa at Caulfield.
Muramasa took out the Group 3 Coongy Cup (2000m) on Wednesday, a little over 24 hours after Uncle Bryn was ruled out of the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) on Saturday.
Uncle Bryn had completed his final gallop at Cranbourne on Tuesday when it was noted the stayer had put in a couple of short steps on pulling up.
“It was a disappointing day yesterday,” Young said.
“I wanted to get on the Sambuca at 8 o’clock in the morning, but I had trot ups at 1.30 that afternoon.
“He galloped super yesterday on his own and when he pulled-up, he took a couple of short steps, which indicates trouble after a gallop, so we x-rayed it and found a small little crack to the sesamoid.
“It’s disappointing, especially as he’s our best rated horse, but it’s not career ending. He can have a good break, do the rehab and hopefully he’ll be back next year.”
Young said it was some silver lining for the stable to see Muramasa win again after scoring first-up at Flemington last month.
Ridden by Daniel Moor, Muramasa ($7.50) scored a three-quarter length win from Diamil ($8.50) with the $3.40 bookmaker favourite Gregolimo a half-head away third.
Young said Muramasa, who showed abundant potential as a three-year-old, underwent tie back surgery and a gelding operation at the conclusion of his last campaign.
“He was performing well enough as a three-year-old, but he wasn’t getting air through,” Young said.
“We sent him up to Sydney and he had that little wind op and now he’s two-from-two this campaign.
“He’s obviously thriving.”
Young said one of the lesser staying races during the Melbourne Cup Carnival was likely to be on the radar for Muramasa.
She said the Bendigo Cup was likely to be too tough for the stayer.
“He’s still rated quite low, so I would love to see him in something like the Queen Elizabeth Stakes over the 2600 metres at Flemington,” Young said.
“He’s won there before. He’s bred to get out over further and now that he’s breathing well with his good turn of foot, we’ll see where we can take him.”