THE return to racing of former boom Perth sprinter Bustling and the re-emergence of Land Legend headline Saturday’s Caulfield program.
Both horses haven’t win since 2024 and are in new stables as they seek to return to the winner’s circle.
Bustling will contest the Benchmark 84 (1000m) and Land Legend will contest the Benchmark 100 (2000m).
Bustling was purchased by clients of Mick Price and Michael Kent Junior after he had established himself as Perth’s best two-year-old with four wins and a second from five starts when he was trained by Daniel Morton.
Bustling was bought with the plan to get into the 2024 The Everest, but that was abandoned after he finished eighth in the G2 Run To The Rose (1200m) at Rosehill in September of that year.
Kent Junior explained to Racing.com that Bustling hadn’t raced since due to a myriad of minor issues and not one particular injury.
Kent Junior said Bustling had had a faultless campaign this time in and had developed into a magnificent four-year-old gelding.
He pointed out that Bustling’s time when he won the Karrakatta Plate for 1200m at Ascot as a two-year-old was only .28 seconds slower than Overpass on the same program when he won The Quokka.
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He said they were tackling a 1000m event first-up on the advice of his jockey, Mark Zahra.
He said it’s going to be hard for Bustling to win first-up as he has a lot of weight (62kgs) and a wet track wasn’t his preferred surface.
Bustling is a $4.20 favourite with Unibet.
Ciaron Maher said he was happy with how his recruit, Land Legend, was progressing for him.
When Land Legend was with Chris Waller, he won the 2024 Metropolitan Handicap and finished third in the 2024 Caulfield Cup, but developed a habit of missing the start and sometimes taking charge of his rider.
He has been slow out in his three starts for Maher, but not as badly as he has been. At his last run he finished third at Flemington to Too Darn Discreet over 2000m.
Maher said Land Legend appears to be on an upward spiral.
Land Legend will also be ridden by Zahra and is the $3.80 favourite with Unibet.
