THE Grahame Begg-trained She’s A Hustler’s appearance in the Zipping Classic (2400m) at Caulfield is designed as a stepping stone for 2026 for the talented mare.
Begg said that if she were to perform well at Caulfield at her first try over 2400m that she could be back at the same course and distance for the Caulfield Cup next spring.
Begg told Racing.com that if She’s A Hustler were to win, that would qualify her for the Caulfield Cup, which would go a long way to seeing her gain a start.
Begg said the way She’s A Hustler finished off at her last start, when she finished second to Sunset Park in the Matriarch Stakes at Flemington on a heavy track, gave him the confidence she will run the trip out.
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“We felt she ran extremely well in the extremely testing conditions on the day and she kept on closing right to the line,” Begg said.
“That set a good platform for this Saturday. She’s trained on really well. She’s going to 2400m for the first time and we feel it’s the right time to step her up to 2400m to season her up for next year.”
She’s A Hustler has had only ten starts and she has won six times and finished second on four occasions. She had one start in New Zealand, where she finished second, before she was transferred to Begg.
“We’ve been pretty guarded with her. We think it’s time for her to step out to 2400m and we don’t think it will be a problem,” he said.
Another horse who could be a factor next spring in the major staying races is the Henry Dwyer-trained Different Gravy, who looked as if he might live up to his name based on the way he won his last start, the Batman Stakes (1800m) at Flemington on Melbourne Cup Day.
Different Gravy will take his place in the inaugural Melbourne Classic (2000m, 3yos).
When he won at Flemington, Dwyer said he chose to go to the Batman Stakes and then on to the Melbourne Classic with the three-year-old gelding.
“We had the choice of going on a Derby path with him, but we were just holding him back a bit,” Dwyer said after the win.
“They’ve got a new race at Caulfield in three weeks – a 2000m race worth $400,000. We thought he wasn’t mentally ready and you saw that today when he wanted to be a bit keen. I think we’ve given him the right lead-up for a race like that.”
