Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Multiple Group 1-winning trainer Grahame Begg is no stranger to a stakes victory, but pulling off two black-type wins within the span of an hour and a half at Caulfield’s Saturday meeting is a particular thrill. Ruska Roma’s (Super Seth) Listed Twilight Glow Stakes victory coupled with the G2 Zipping Classic win of She’s A Hustler (NZ) (Ace High) bring together two mares that couldn’t be more different to train.
Smart from the start
Of the stakes-winning pair, the 3-year-old Ruska Roma has been the more forward; the Pinecliff Racing-bred and owned filly debuted in May with a sharp third behind subsequent G1 Caulfield Guineas second Planet Red (Admire Mars {Jpn}) and neatly knocked off her maiden in late August upon resumption. After that, she leaped straight into stakes company where three times she came within three lengths of victory.
Ticking the black-type box at start number seven was “very satisfying” for Begg.
Grahame Begg | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“She’s a homebred for Pinecliff,” he said of the daughter of Super Seth, who raced in the same white and red stripes en route to his G1 Caulfield Guineas victory. “She’s nearly done it all in one preparation. She had the one run at the tail end of May and then had a short break. She didn’t get a lot of time out before the spring, but she’s done a great job, she’s been at stakes level the whole preparation with little luck.”
“She’s (Ruska Roma) nearly done it all in one preparation.” - Grahame Begg
“Not much luck” was also how regular rider Jordan Childs described the filly’s spring when speaking to Gareth Hall on SEN on Monday, having been aboard every time Ruska Roma has run into some of the spring’s strongest fillies.
In her last start before the Twilight Glow, Ruska Roma surged forward from 12th to finish fourth to subsequent Group 2 winner Sheza Alibi (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}) in the G3 Vanity Stakes, and was beaten by two and three quarter lengths in the G2 Edward Manifold Stakes by Getta Good Feeling (So You Think {NZ}) ahead of the latter’s G1 1000 Guineas placing.
“It was good to have a race finally work out her way, and I think she will definitely go on with it,” Childs told Hall. “I was just grateful to Pinecliff Racing and Grahame (for getting the ride). Flemington was a bit of a disaster (in the Vanity), so it was good to repay them with a win.”
Her Twilight breakthrough was well earned when passing ante-post favourite Jenni Gone Bonkers (Maurice {Jpn}) by a length and a quarter, with Lyrics ‘N’ Song (Written Tycoon) in third. The victory has Begg plotting another black-type campaign come the autumn for the filly.
“We’ll see where she can take us next year,” he said. “She'll more than likely target the PJ Bell in Sydney, then a couple of weeks later go to the James Carr. It’s 1200 metres into 1400 metres at Randwick, and she’s had two runs on soft ground for two wins, so it should suit.”
Ruska Roma | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
A good constitution and a strong pedigree are beneficial when sending a filly out to such a lengthy spring preparation. Ruska Roma is the second winner for her dam Sansa (NZ) (Makfi {GB}), a half-sister to Listed-winning stakes producer Members Joy (Hussonet) and the dam of dual Group 3-winning Jennilala (Shalaa {Ire}).
“She’s got a great nature,” Begg added. “She's from a very good family, if you go deep in her pedigree. She had a sister who was a winner up the Flemington straight. It’s a great family, and she’s pretty easy to train.”
“It’s a great family, and she’s (Ruska Roma) pretty easy to train.” - Grahame Begg
Sansa’s dam Rosa’s Spur (Flying Spur), herself a winner of the G3 Dane Ripper Plate, is a half to the dam of multiple stakes winner Indian Pacific (Zoustar), who missed out on a G1 Newmarket Handicap by a head.
A work in progress
The 5-year-old She’s A Hustler is a bit of a different story. It’s a point of pride that the mare hasn’t finished once further back than second in 11 starts, but her lightly raced nature belies the patience and delicacy that training her has necessitated.
“She’s a work in progress,” is how Begg described the daughter of Ace High. “She’s got a little bit of an edge to her, which I think comes through from the sireline. They can be a little bit quirky, and it’s all been about getting her to harness all of her ability and getting her to do things right."
“It’s all been about getting her (She's A Hustler) to harness all of her ability and getting her to do things right.” - Grahame Begg
The irony is not lost that She's A Hustler is so different to Ruska Roma; Super Seth and Ace High are bred on the same High Chaparral (Ire)/Redoute's Choice cross, but one was quicker to tap into her ability than the other.
“You’ve got to watch her all of the time at home. When she first came home, she was a bit aggressive in the way she went about things in her work and also her racing style. She sort of knew she had the ability, but didn't know how to use it.”
Ace High | Standing at Rich Hill Stud
A NZ$70,000 New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale graduate from Rich Hill Stud when bought by Phill Cataldo Bloodstock (BAFNZ), She’s A Hustler ran once at Matamata for Roger James and Robert Wellwood, taking home second before her export to Australia. There was enough ability in her early performances to merit a swing at the bigger prizemoney across the Tasman - a decision that has turned out to be quite fruitful indeed.
“Before she came to me, I watched her trials back in New Zealand and she just didn't know how to use herself, didn't know how to leap and stride or anything,” Begg said. “She was like a kangaroo. She had her head up in the air, and she'd be going everywhere.”
“She (She's A Hustler) was like a kangaroo. She had her head up in the air, and she'd be going everywhere.” - Grahame Begg
Some nine months after her first start, She’s A Hustler hit the ground running in her debut on Australian soil with a victory at Geelong. She has barely looked back since, with Begg slowly steering her into city level, and further into stakes company, while stretching the mare out in distance.
The latter makes a lot of sense when looking at her pedigree; G1 Victoria Derby winner Ace High’s shortest stakes victory was over 1800 metres in the G3 Gloaming Stakes, and dam Snow Petal (Bernardini {USA}) is a half-sister to the versatile Crafty Irna (Starcraft {NZ}), a stakes winner out to 2400 metres. Second dam Zirna (Deputy Governor {USA}) was a G1 New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders' Stakes winner in New Zealand before conquering Singapore, with black-type wins up to 2200 metres.
She's A Hustler | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“She’s only had the 11 starts now, but she’s still evolving,” Begg said. “The thing I have seen in this preparation is that she's going about her racing a lot better in regards to settling, and obviously she needs to be doing that to be running in better company over 2000 metres or further.”
“She probably never travels like the winner,” said Childs. “But she’s able to build into her races and then she’s able to keep going. I think she’s a horse that could get a little bit further as well, with how well she hit the line on Saturday. I had to hold my spot early on while a few other jockeys were keen to get closer - once we got clear air, she was never going to get beaten.”
“She (She's A Hustler) probably never travels like the winner, but she’s able to build into her races and then she’s able to keep going.” - Jordan Childs
It’s with the distance in mind that Begg puts She’s A Hustler away now, with the intention of returning for the Queensland winter carnival. Begg has pencilled in the G2 Q22 ahead of developing the mare into his latest G1 Caulfield Cup prospect.
“She'll be a more rounded horse once she has had a trip away,” he said of the benefits of going north with the mare. “She had the one little trip away to Adelaide last May and she certainly has come back this preparation handling things a bit better, so I really think going to Queensland for a longer period would only help her.”
Taking the pressure off
Some owners may not have been patient enough to wait for a mare to turn four before she starts to show stakes ability, and Begg is grateful to have clients like Cataldo who bring him a good horse then leave him to it.
“It takes the pressure off,” he said. “They left it all to me to pick out the races and targets for her, so we didn’t step her up too quickly. We’ve been able to just let her evolve and go through her grades, and it’s now culminating in a better class of horse.
“We’ve been able to just let her (She's A Hustler) evolve and go through her grades, and it’s now culminating in a better class of horse.” - Grahame Begg
“I have to take my hat off to Phill, he sourced her and he has done a fantastic job. The gentleman who is the main owner, Michael Auld, buys them for not a lot of money and syndicates them amongst his friends. The plan is, they leave the horses in New Zealand and if they show enough, they come over to Australia, and the ownership is prepared to give them the time.”
She's A Hustler's connections after her G2 Zipping Classic win | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Time for She’s A Hustler has been the controlling factor, and time also has a part to play in new recruit Wings Of Desire (Pride Of Dubai), a 4-year-old half-sister to Winx (Street Cry {Ire}) who joined Begg’s stable from Sydney earlier this year. A dual provincial winner in New South Wales, the mare was sent off to tick the metropolitan win box in early November and dutifully delivered for Begg at Caulfield Heath.
Despite the value of her breeding, there’s no rush from the owners - and breeders, Fairway Thoroughbreds - to send her to the breeding barn. Begg has been patient with the “big, big filly”.
“She’s always shown some ability,” he said. “She had those provincial wins at Hawkesbury and Newcastle, but being half to Winx, it was very vital that she get a win in the city. She was given a big spell (earlier in the year) - she had a few immaturity issues because she’s a big, heavy, strong filly, and she has come back from her break really well.”
“She (Wings Of Desire) had those provincial wins at Hawkesbury and Newcastle, but being half to Winx, it was very vital that she get a win in the city.” - Grahame Begg
The next step is Saturday grade, and Wings Of Desire heads to Rosehill Gardens on Saturday with the mission of ticking that box too.
Wings Of Desire | Image courtesy of Racing Photos
“We’ve given her a few weeks to get over that first run,” Begg said. “And we saw this race in Sydney that looks nice for her. There wasn’t anything down here, which was a bit disappointing.”
Hunting for value
As the calendar moves closer to the beginning of the yearling sale season with the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale next month, Begg is preparing to head north in the hopes of picking up a value buy or two to add to his boutique stable. This year, he signed the docket for three yearlings at the Gold Coast, including Capitalist filly Oman who was fourth on debut in November.
“I’m happy to buy horses that we think need to be given a bit of time,” he said. “We will look at most of the catalogue, but (what we buy is) not necessarily going to be up winning the Magic Millions or anything like that. If it’s a VOBIS horse that needs a bit of time, we are quite happy with that down here in Victoria.
“I’m happy to buy horses that we think need to be given a bit of time.” - Grahame Begg
“On the other hand, if we get an order to buy something a little sharper, we will look at that kind of horse, but it’s pretty hard work out there and there’s a lot of competition. You end up paying a premium. The catalogues across all the sales have improved, and often all of the good judges land on the same horse.”
The trick for Begg is finding the value that is missed by those after a forward type, and the proof is in the pudding with She’s A Hustler that if you budget with patience, you can get rewarded very handsomely indeed.
