Blind Raise has shortened into second favouritism for the Caulfield Guineas following a dominant victory in a lead-up contest at Caulfield.
The three-year-old, prepared by Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young, faced early pressure in the Group 3 Caulfield Guineas Prelude (1400m) on Saturday. It then had to fend off a mid-race move before scoring untouched.
Sent out as the $2.40 favourite under Blake Shinn, Blind Raise recorded a 2-¾ length win from Tornado Valley ($19), with American Eagle ($5) a short-head further back in third.
Blind Raise firmed from $11 into $4 after the win to sit on the second line of betting for the Caulfield Guineas (1600m) on October 10, behind Tron Bolt ($3.50).
Shinn stated that Saturday’s victory was a clear statement with the Guineas still three weeks away.
“He’s an exceptional horse,” Shinn said. “I’m just delighted to get a win for Trent and Natalie. They’re great judges of horses. It didn’t work for the horse in the winter when they took him to Queensland and they’ve come back and he’s just got a real aura about him. We’ve got three weeks into the Guineas, and he was off a two-week backup into today off one trial into his first-up run. I’m pleased he’s got three weeks into the Guineas. Trent can do what he likes with him and it’s exciting.”
Busuttin commented that Blind Raise was a different horse heading into Saturday’s race compared to the one that won first-up at Sandown on September 5.
“He’s improved a hell of a lot,” Busuttin said. “He’s such a relaxed, calm horse, and first-up off the back of one trial when at Sandown, he was sweating, he was jig-jogging, he was up-and-about, but today he was asleep and I knew it was game on.”
Blind Raise had to be on his game as he was forced to work up the hill from the 1400m start, before settling outside the leader Alchemistic.
Subsequently, Ethan Brown on Wolf Gap made a move before the turn to put pressure into the race.
“He’s a horse with a good turn of foot,” Busuttin added. “When they whipped around and Blake was still sitting pretty on him, I was pretty happy. He will go into the Guineas without another run. It was a two-week turnaround without a break and it’s three weeks to the Guineas and then another two weeks … to the Cox Plate.”
With the Caulfield Guineas on the horizon, exploring the racing odds at leading bookmakers could be beneficial.
