Trust In A Gust to Aurie's Star

Connections of Trust In A Gust (Keep The Faith) are hoping Saturday’s G3 Aurie’s Star Hcp (1200m) can act as a springboard to further Group 1 success as he prepares to give 6kg to all his rivals at Flemington.

The winner of the G1 Toorak Hcp (1600m) in October last year had been set to head to Swettenham Stud for the 2015 breeding season but the Stud’s principal Adam Sangster opted to allow the five-year-old to race on.

That decision came about after Trust In A Gust’s proposed Brisbane campaign was shelved due to an injury sustained in the process of travelling to Queensland and trainer Darren Weir told ANZ Bloodstock he is excited to see Trust In A Gust return to action.

“We’ve got to get him a run before the Memsie Stakes and this gives him a good two weeks to recover before that race,” he said.  “I’m absolutely stoked to have him back for another season, it was entirely Adam’s decision but of course we supported it.

“Swettenham has been brilliant with us and have let us plan his campaign how we want to so far.”

Weir’s racing manager Jeremy Rogers said connections are not pinning all their hopes on a victory in the Aurie’s Star with Trust In A Gust set to carry a top weight of 60kg with the rest of the field on the minimum 54kg.

“He’s earned the weight and we can’t change that, we’re just keen to get him up and running now.  The horse is fit and well, although that being said, we think there’s a lot of improvement left in him.

“This race is really just a kick off point for him, we’re not going to be too concerned if he doesn’t win.  If he runs well but is beaten, then so be it, he has much bigger goals this preparation than Saturday.

“All being well, the plan is for him to go to the Memsie Stakes and then on to the Makybe Diva two weeks later. After that, we will assess where we are with him and make a decision on the rest of the spring from there.”

Trust In A Gust sits second in the TAB betting for the Aurie’s Star at $2.90 behind the favourite Shiraz (Zariz) at $2.25.