The Cambridge trainers have been forced to bide their time with the Group One-performed stallion, but are now looking forward with confidence to the Queensland winter carnival.
El Roca will trial on April 9 ahead of a Brisbane campaign that is likely to
kick off at Doomben a month later."He's coming up well and we're really happy with him," Busuttin said. "It's five weeks to the BTC Cup and all going well we'll then be looking at the Doomben 10,000 and the Stradbroke Handicap."
The stakes winner of three of his nine starts, El Roca was runner-up to Dissident in last season's Gr.1 Randwick Guineas and third against the older horses behind the international star Gordon Lord Byron in the Gr.1 George Ryder Stakes.
He was spelled after an unplaced run in the Gr.1 Doncaster Handicap and was due to open his spring campaign in the Gr.3 Bobbie Lewis Quality at Flemington when he went amiss with a suspensory ligament injury.
"He did his initial rehabilitation over there and came back to New Zealand at the start of December," Busuttin said.
"He had another month out here and he started on the water walker at the beginning of January.
"An injury like that is never good, but the last scan was fine and there's no issue with his leg. He's been on the treadmill and mixing it up with trackwork."– NZ Racing Desk.
