The Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr stable will be reluctant to test Bustling in Sydney again and will instead concentrate their efforts in Melbourne.
Bustling runs for the fourth time this campaign in the Group 3 Sir John Monash Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield on Saturday looking to break through for his first win since May 2024.
Admittedly, Bustling has only had four runs in the time since that last success, but the gelding was purchased as a potential candidate for The Everest.
But Bustling has flopped in two Sydney starts.
In his first appearance, Bustling ran second last in the Group 2 Run To The Rose (1200m) at Rosehill, his last start before a 20-month absence from the racetrack, while his most recent Sydney appearance was last start when seventh at Randwick on June 20.
Prior to that, Bustling had run consecutive placings at Caulfield, first-up over 1000m on May 9 and then second in the Listed Bel Esprit Stakes (1100m) on May 30.
Kent Jnr said the team felt let down by Bustling’s effort last start.
“We had him in at Flemington down the straight and in Sydney that day,” Kent Jnr said.
“I was a bit cautious on Sydney because he had failed there once before, but I thought that was in the past.
“Horses change states all the time, so I had to find out.
“Talking to both track managers, the surface at Randwick was going to be much better and as it worked out, he didn’t fire a shot in Sydney which was in stark contrast to how he had been progressing in Melbourne where he felt like we were building to a win.
“He ran a first-up third, we didn’t think he could win over 1000 (metres) with a big weight, but he progressed nicely, ran second in the Bel Esprit, a Listed race, and went to Sydney looking for better ground, but hated that way of going.
“He layed-in up the straight badly and he came out of the gates and knuckled badly, but he pulled-up perfect and we’re looking forward to Saturday.
“Fourth-up, he can’t be much fitter, and Blake Shinn rode him on Monday morning in a piece of work and thought it was excellent.”
Kent Jnr said Bustling should be at his peak on Saturday having finally rid himself of ‘excess’ after almost two years away from racing.
“It takes a while to get rid of two years of fat from not racing,” Kent Jnr said.
“He had been in and out of work, but there was no high-end trials or races and it takes a while for them, and I really think we’ve got the horse fit.”
Despite the race being a non-claiming affair, apprentice Logan Bates takes the ride.
