Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young have had a lot of faith in Uncle Bryn who starts his build up towards an All-Star Mile start at Flemington.
The Listed Elms Handicap (1400m) on Saturday is the starting point for Uncle Bryn who Busuttin and Young hope gains an All-Star Mile (1600m) start at Moonee Valley on March 18, the third run of the campaign.
Unfortunately for Busuttin and Young, Uncle Bryn currently sits outside the top 15 in the fan voted race and will need to win the Group 2 Blamey Stakes (1600m) at Flemington on March 4 to gain a start.
Only two races, the Group 1 Futurity Stakes (1400m) at Sandown on Saturday week and the Blamey offer ‘win-and-you’re-in’ status to the All-Star Mile.
Since his win in the Listed Cranbourne Cup (1600m) last November, Uncle Bryn’s campaign has been geared towards the 2023 All-Star Mile with the possibility of backing up the following week for the Group 1 Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington.
“He’s come back great and it’s time to test him out against the better ones,” Busuttin said.
“I would suggest he will be hard to beat first-up, even with the 60 kilos.
“He didn’t do too much wrong last time in apart from the Toorak Handicap, when he didn’t turn up at all that day and ran last.
“Outside that he’s run well the whole way through.”
With places at a premium in the All-Star Mile, Busuttin and Young considered Saturday’s outing a better starting point that last week’s Group 1 C F Orr Stakes at Sandown.
The one-week delay also allowed some extra work after Uncle Bryn’s fourth-place finish behind Annavisto in a Cranbourne barrier trial on February 6.
“This is the softer approach rather than taking on the good ones in the weight-for-age Group 1 first-up,” Busuttin said.
“We know we’ll have to meet them later on, so hopefully we can get through this safely, into the Blamey and then we’ve got the All-Star Mile and the Australian Cup on the agenda.”
Should Uncle Bryn not make the cut for the All-Star Mile and Australian Cup, Busuttin and Young have back-up options in Sydney having nominated the gelding in the Doncaster Mile, the Queen Elzabeth Stakes and the Sydney Cup, all at Randwick.