Not one eyebrow would have been raised had Immediacy been directed towards the Group 1 Doomben Cup, but Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young are maintaining a conservative approach with the rejuvenated gelding.
The four-year-old son of Tarzino runs in this Saturday’s $200,000 Group 3 Chairman’s Handicap (2000m) at Doomben.
Immediacy has comfortably won his past two starts, taking his record to five wins from 12 starts, and is among the early nominations for Saturday week’s weight-for-age $1 million event over 2000m, which Busuttin felt was just a little bit out of reach for this stage of his career.
“The reality is he’s probably not a Group 1 horse – he’s a Group 3, fringe-Group 2 horse – so you’ve got to put them in the right races,” Busuttin said.
“If he runs in the Doomben Cup he’s carrying weight-for-age against a horse like Antino, so we’d be happy to win a Group 3 race rather than go around and run fifth or sixth in a Doomben Cup.
“We’re just trying to win some races and pick up some prizemoney away from the better horses.”
Immediacy has drawn barrier two in the field of 14 and will carry 58kg, the bulk of which will be made up by star jockey Mark Zahra.
Sir Delius (60kg), a Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained son of Frankel whose most recent appearance resulted in an eighth placing in last year’s Arc De Triomphe, heads Immediacy’s Chairman’s Handicap rivals and Busuttin said another slight step up in grade is possible if he wins impressively at Doomben.
“He’s fit and he’s won his last two, so if he can win the next one then you probably raise the bar slightly to the Q22 towards the end of the winter.”
The $1.2 million Group 2 Q22 (2200m), won last year by Fawkner Park, will be run at Eagle Farm on June 14.
