By David Nagel
IT was always going to take something pretty special to lure New Zealand training pair Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young away from their Cambridge training base.
The two kiwis – who returned home in 2006 after more than a decade in Singapore – had their sights set on moving to Australia, but nothing tickled their fancy.
Meanwhile, across the ditch, in October 2014, former Premier of Victoria and Minister for Racing Denis Napthine announced a $4.9 million investment to construct on-course stables at the Cranbourne Training Complex.
For Busuttin and Young and the Cranbourne Turf Club – it would prove to be a match made in heaven.
Cranbourne unveiled the first stage of the now $6.5 million stable complex – including a refurbished training track – in early August.
Busuttin and Young moved in and couldn’t be happier with the facilities at their disposal.
“The on-course stables were definitely a lure,” Busuttin said.
“We were looking to move to Australia about three or four years ago but found nothing suitable so we stayed put. We spoke to Neil Bainbridge (Cranbourne CEO) and he showed us the plans and we were blown away by how great they were. You just can’t help but be impressed.”
Busuttin, who has extensive international experience, says the facilities at Cranbourne are top-notch.
“It’s definitely the best training centre that I’ve come across,” he said.
“In our travels, we’ve stabled horses at Flemington, Randwick and all over New Zealand and I think Cranbourne is the best set-up in the Southern Hemisphere. The grass, the pro-ride and the sand tracks give us everything we need to train our horses.”
Busuttin and Young, who are no strangers to success having trained Sangster to victory in the 2011 Victoria Derby and Tavago to this year’s Australian Derby, have new neighbours at the complex in Robbie Griffiths and Greg Eurell, with Enver Jusufovic and Robbie Laing soon to move in.
Busuttin says having his horses stabled on track has many advantages.
“Our stables are 100-metres from the track, which saves time and saves on transportation costs – which is great for our owners,” he said.
“And over the last week alone we’ve had races at Cranbourne, Mornington and Pakenham, and we’ve got Sandown this Saturday, that’s four race meetings within a 40-minute radius. It’s cheaper for our owners and great for our horses, they don’t have to travel for four or five hours to race.”
Busuttin and Young were the only Cranbourne-based trainers to gather a win during the Flemington Spring Carnival with exciting three-year-old colt Anaheim.
While bragging rights against the Aussies is good, success for all trainers at Cranbourne is the long-term goal.
“It’s always good to sledge the Aussies, but we want everyone at the centre to do well,” he said.
“People probably don’t realise how tough it is to get a winner at this time of year with trainers like Chris Waller, Gai Waterhouse and the Snowden’s (Paul and Peter) coming down from Sydney. But with facilities like this – we have no excuses.”
