Expat Kiwis love for Japanese horses delivers windfall

5 min read
Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young have the deepest admiration for Japanese thoroughbreds and that led them to securing a son of super sire Lord Kanaloa (Jpn) last year. While $300,000 was a sizeable investment, it’s now in the blue chip category.

The New Zealand couple, who have called Cranbourne home since 2016, bought a Lord Kanaloa colt out of Arrowfield Stud’s draft at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale and as Tagaloa his value has skyrocketed following his win in Saturday’s G1 Neds Blue Diamond S. at Caulfield.

Arrowfield was an early supporter of Lord Kanaloa, a multiple international Group 1-winning sprinter, and bred several yearlings to Southern Hemisphere time in a joint venture with Japan’s Northern Farm.

Tagaloa was the only Lord Kanaloa offering at Magic Millions Sale and went through the ring as the opening lot on day two with Busuttin and Young steely in their resolve to take him home.

Tagaloa in the ring at Magic Millions as a yearling

"We actually really love the Lord Kanaloas and we tried to get one here in June, but we missed out on him, so we weren't going to miss out on this one," Young told TDN AusNZ at the time. "He is just a typical Japanese-bred horse and he looked like a nice buy. I think the Japanese horses are just fantastic, they are superior horses."

How prophetic those words became at Caulfield where Tagaloa triumphed and as a colt the sky’s now the limit for the 2-year-old, who delivered the couple’s first Group 1 victory from their adopted Cranbourne base.

“I can’t believe it, I’m an emotional wreck. It’s unbelievable and this has always been the target for this horse being a Lord Kanaloa and he’s got a fantastic group of owners,” Young said. “The Group 1 has been eluding us for a little while and to do it with a 2-year-old is unbelievable.”

“The Group 1 has been eluding us for a little while and to do it with a 2-year-old is unbelievable.” – Natalie Young

Tagaloa gave a glimpse of his talent early in with a debut third in the spring in the G3 Maribyrnong Plate at Flemington and then broke his maiden at The Valley before a break.

He returned to finish fourth in the G3 Blue Diamond Prelude and, with the benefit of that outing, was able to overcome a wide run close to the pace to down the favourite Hanseatic (Street Boss {USA}).

Tagaloa holds off Hanseatic to win the Blue Diamond S.

“He did it the tough way sitting three deep on the speed. When he kicked and the favourite came off our back I though no, but he toughed it out and poked his neck out,” Busuttin said.

“We knew he had improvement from first-up to second-up and it’s just so exciting. It’s a big pay day in a flagship race.

“We’ve got a fantastic group of people behind us. There are a lot of great trainers out there that unfortunately don’t have the cattle or the owners behind them and we’re blessed in that aspect.

“There are a lot of great trainers out there that unfortunately don’t have the cattle or the owners behind them and we’re blessed in that aspect.” – Trent Busuttin

“We’ve got great staff so it’s good for everyone involved, not only the owners of this horse but there’ll be a lot of people happy for us in New Zealand and all around. We’re very lucky we’ve got good people around us.

“This is what it is all about. Thursday night I was at Pakenham and we had two horses, one second last and one last so there are plenty of lows. This makes up for it all we’ll enjoy it.”

Also sharing in the Group 1 glory was expatriate Kiwi jockey Michael Walker, whose association with the Busuttin family goes back a number of years.

Michael Walker

“Nat and Trent had this horse spot on and I rode him on Saturday and he worked brilliantly,” he said. “I’d like to give a special thanks to Lester Grace, who rides him every day and works for the stable.

“They’re doing a tremendous job at Cranbourne. I’m so happy to get one for Trent because I rode for his Dad (Paddy) when I was 15 in Singapore so to keep the tie with the family is good. This is a top-class colt and he’ll only get better with age.”

“This is a top-class colt and he’ll only get better with age.” – Michael Walker

It was also satisfying on a personal note for Walker, who has had his share on injuries.

“Three days before the Melbourne Cup last year I couldn’t walk and since then I’ve had an operation. I pray to God that it’s the last operation I have on my hips, I’ve had 12 and don’t want any more.”

Michael Walker celebrates the victory

Tagaloa was forced to cover extra ground in the running, but not to be denied he got to the front 200 metres out and was able to hold off the challenge of Hanseatic with Personal (Fastnet Rock) coming from the tail for third and Magic Millions winner Away Game (Snitzel) was fourth.

He is a son of Vasilissa (Jpn) (Heart’s Cry {Jpn}), who is in foal to The Autumn Sun, and she is a half-sister to the stakes-winner Tricolore Bleu (Jpn) (Stay Gold {Jpn}) with their dam the G3 Fred Darling S. winner Penkenna Princess (GB) (Pivotal {GB}).