Trainers Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young will head north to Brisbane with Blind Raise after his impressive win at Flemington.
Blind Raise took out the Listed Anzac Day Stakes (1400m) on Saturday, the same race stablemate Epimeles won in 2024.
Busuttin and Young made the decision to spell Epimeles after his victory to concentrate on a spring campaign, but they won’t be making the same mistake with Blind Raise.
Sent out the $2.15 favourite under Beau Mertens, Blind Raise raced away to a two-length victory from Profligate ($7.50) with Seraphox ($4.40) a half-head away third.
Busuttin said the Group 2 BRC Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) at Eagle Farm next month and the Group 1 J J Atkins (1600m) in June were on the agenda for Blind Raise in coming months.
“Plenty of things can go wrong between now and when they turn three and that’s why we want to go to Brisbane,” Busuttin said.
“When Epimeles won this race, we said we’d spell and go for the spring, but things haven’t stopped going wrong with him ever since.
“For this bloke, there’s two one-million-dollar races up in Queensland and I might even get a trip up there.”
Blind Raise is unbeaten in two races having scored on debut at Sandown earlier in April.
Busuttin said it was pleasing to see Blind Raise take the step from his debut win to success in a Stakes race on Saturday.
“He did it pretty impressively and the market said he would and you always want to see them do it, especially at their second start,” Busuttin said.
“He’s taken that next step, and he’s done it pretty easily, although he floated out in front by himself a bit, but it’s good to get the job done.”
Blind Raise was a $70,000 purchase in New Zealand being by Victoria Derby winner Ace High from a daughter of multiple Group 1 winner Seachange.
“This horse has got some of his sire’s ability and his granddam’s ability, Seachange,” Busuttin said.
“She was a proper horse, and the blood always seems to come through out of those good mares, probably not the first line but in their second.”
