The Quokka on the radar for former Perth star

Expensive Perth-bred gelding Bustling might make his return to his home state for a lucrative race after a less-than-ideal debut under Melbourne-based trainers Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr in September.

Previously trained by Dan Morton, Bustling gained significant attention in Australian racing circles after a sensational start to his career. He won four of his five races as a two-year-old, and his success only heightened following his $2 million sale to new connections.

Bustling claimed victory in Perth’s top juvenile races, including a dominant four-length win in the G2 Karrakatta Plate (1200m), where he led the field from start to finish with impressive speed. He followed this up with another commanding win in the Group 3 Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m), finishing almost three lengths ahead of his rivals. His performances capped off a stellar two-year-old campaign, earning him Western Australia’s Horse of the Year title, a rare feat for such a young horse. Bustling’s speed and acceleration left a lasting impression on the racing scene.

With such a reputation, Bustling earned one of the coveted slots in last year’s $20 million The Everest race. However, plans for the race were halted when the horse failed to meet expectations in his interstate debut. After a series of promising trials, Bustling finished a distant eighth, four lengths behind winner Traffic Warden, in the Group 2 Run To The Rose (1200m), and only managed to outpace one other horse.

Despite the disappointment, Kent Jnr remains hopeful for Bustling’s future. He believes the horse is ready for a fresh start after some remedial work. Kent Jnr shared on Tabradio, “He’s had a really good spell and is in really good shape. He’ll have a gallop on the weekend and kick off around the end of March. I think he went out at 480kg and returned into work at 560kg. When you look at him, he’s not a big horse, but 560kg is not a small horse. He’s got a lot of muscle mass, got great length to him, and he’s in really good shape. He’s had four weeks of pre-training and probably will have his first gallop on the weekend. We’ll work out his programme as we get a little closer, but he is probably ready to kick off end of March, I would have thought.”

Though Kent Jnr was disappointed that Bustling couldn’t race in The Everest, he emphasized that the team had been cautious in their approach. “We have to get him back and let the horse do the talking, he just had feet angles that were just not right and disuniting,” Kent Jnr said. “He didn’t do it in his trial in Sydney leading in, he trialled so well there and ran slick time. He didn’t disunite, but in his one race start, he did. He had another gallop, and we were not 100 per cent happy with him. We could have forced the issue, but all the owners are seasoned campaigners. While he was an expensive purchase, the feeling was, we have a really nice horse on our hands, and let’s just get him right. He’s moving very well, but proof will be in the pudding when he gets back going fast again, but we’re very hopeful.”

Kent Jnr hasn’t ruled out the possibility of Bustling returning to Perth for a shot at the $5 million The Quokka, set to take place at Ascot in April. “We’ve had a brief conversation about it,” Kent Jnr said. “It seems an obvious race, and he has been very good previously at Ascot over 1200m. The timing is very good for us and incredible prize money. If we got him back to his best, it would be a nice option for him.”