No regrets in Blue Diamond target for Tagaloa
Cranbourne trainer Natalie Young says she has no regrets bypassing the Magic Millions in favour of the Blue Diamond with her "special" two-year-old Tagaloa.
Immediately following the colt's second-start win, husband and training partner Trent Busuttin flagged the Gold Coast classic as the likely path for Tagaloa, however those plans changed in the 24 hours following.
Promising two-year-old colt Tagaloa gets a well-deserved pat after his impressive victory at Moonee Valley.Credit:Getty Images
"Once the dust had settled and we'd actually looked forward, the Blue Diamond is a bit more of a stallion-making race," Young said.
"I still think he's probably a horse that really would have handled the trip away, being a two-year-old colt.
"But you never know, when they travel to the Gold Coast they sometimes get a bit of travel sickness and it's a long float trip.
"We actually gave him a couple weeks' break after that and I think, to be honest, it's been an absolute blessing. To come back in, he's just filled out, he looks like a complete beast.
"He was a little bit raw prior to that, a little bit of a coat hanger and this time in he's a big beast of a horse."
The Magic Millions was won by roughy Away Game, who was well behind Tagaloa in early markets, but Young said the stable is comfortable they've made the right call.
"You'll get a sore neck looking back," she said.
"He's a Lord Kanaloa, he's a colt, so we really need to think about the owners making that price tag as a stallion going forward. Once we weighed it up, it was never really a question mark.
Natalie Young (right) with Tagaloa at trackwork this week.Credit:AAP
"I think we definitely chose the right path, just on the way he's come back in, he's come back bigger, better and stronger."
Rising stars Hanseatic and Rulership shape as the horses to beat in Saturday's Blue Diamond Prelude, but a trial against the three-year-olds in the past fortnight has Young and jockey Michael Walker bullish about Tagaloa's chances.
"It's a good quality field, the two-year-olds are really strong this year, Ciaron Maher's got a good team, the boys in blue [Godolphin] obviously, but how Walker got off when he trialled against the three-year-olds the other day, he was pretty bullish he's only got bigger and better and I'm of that opinion as well," she said.
"He's going into Saturday with five weeks between runs, galloped up on Tuesday and had a little bit of a blow.
"His grand final is on the 22nd obviously but he'll run a great race, I think he's well overs.
"If he runs top three, I'll be over the moon. It's really about him getting out there, getting around Caulfield and pulling up sound."
Young said the Japanese-bred colt was certainly one of her stable favourites.
"He's just got the temperament," she said.
"Usually two-year-old colts, you walk in their box, they want to bite, they want to nip and there's just that something about him.
"He gives you that x-factor feel and you don't often have horses like that come through your barn."