Trent Busuttin will aim to close the card at Pakenham on Saturday with three former imports featuring in the first and last races.
The biggest threat to impressive Australian debut winner Brayden Star could be from the stable of Busuttin and Natalie Young, with Spanish Kiss equally pleasing in the opener despite the price difference.
Brayden Star opened at $2.40 with TAB but shortened to $2.15 within minutes.
With the instant favorite move, Spanish Kiss moved $26 to $31.
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The Cranbourne trainers will put $5 favorite Chicago Bear on a tie with the Phillip Stokes-trained Arran Bay in the final race.
“Three weeks between races and second is ideal (for Brayden Star),” Busuttin said.
“It’s never easy, but obviously we think we’re going to be hard to beat. I’d say we’re going to be pretty short on the market.
“He has a good draw over 2000m and should be able to be in a more prominent place, we will find out a bit more about him on Saturday.”
Brayden Star looped the field to win a Grade 3 at Cranbourne last month.
“I’m sure he’ll run well again and we’ll probably give him an easy break and decide where we go in the autumn, he’s still very low in the ratings so plenty of opportunities,” Busuttin said.
Spanish Kiss debuted for the stable two weeks ago at Ballarat, placed sixth of 15 in a Benchmark 78.
“I would expect him to have a big run as well,” Busuttin said.
“He ran very fresh, was keen on the bridle and then got stuck in the worst part of the match the other day at Ballarat.
“Everything was getting as wide as possible and he got stuck on a lower gait (closer to the rail) and felt the pinch late, but you’ll see him run a nice race on Saturday.”
The increase in distance – from 1600m to 2000m – is ideal for six-year stays, proven up to 3300m.
Chicago Bear was fourth in the first at Flemington last month, beaten less than two lengths.
“Craig Williams felt he should have won, certainly unlucky, so I think if he puts in a Flemington-like performance at Pakenham, it looks like a really nice race for him,” Busuttin said.
Despite promising early signs and a smooth adaptation to Australian conditions, autumn remains fluid for the trio.
“Imports win a lot of races, so you have to have as many in the stable as possible,” Busuttin said.
“We’re looking to win races and win prizes for the owners, the horses will tell us how far they go.”
Originally published as Trent Busuttin bullish on promising imports Brayden Star, Spanish Kiss and Chicago Bear at Pakenham