Blind Raise to compete in $6 million Cox Plate

Trainer Trent Busuttin, in partnership with Natalie Young, has decided to enter the Caulfield Guineas runner-up, Blind Raise, into this Saturday’s $6 million Group 1 Cox Plate at Flemington.

While sending the colt to Sydney for the $2 million Spring Champion Stakes at Randwick would be the more conventional path to securing a Group 1 win, Busuttin noted that a genuine opportunity to compete in the Cox Plate is rare. Blind Raise, a son of Ace High, will carry 49.5kg with Jamie Melham riding.

Blind Raise and the Bjorn Baker-trained Warwoven both aim to become the first three-year-olds to win the weight-for-age championship since Shamus Award in 2013. Other confirmed rivals include Sir Delius, Aeliana, and Birdman, while Ceolwulf is expected to compete following a second-place finish in the King Charles III Stakes.