WEEKEND HUSSLER GOES FOR 8TH GROUP 1

Weekend Hussler heading
for eighth Group 1

Weekend Hussler : has a bad draw but jockey Brad Rawiller reckons they'll "work something out"

PREVIEW: Australia, Saturday
Flemington: Turnbull Stakes (Group 1) 1m2f

AUSTRALIAN superstar Weekend Hussler faces one of the stiffest tasks of his career on Saturday when he bids for his eighth Group 1 victory in the Turnbull Stakes at Flemington.

Not only does the 1m2f trip represent a new frontier for a four-year-old who has never raced beyond 1m1f, but the freakish son of Hussonet has drawn the outside stall in a 13-runner field.

However, his ever-confident trainer Ross McDonald put a positive slant on the poor draw in a race that takes place in the early hours of Saturday morning UK time.

“We were overdue for a bad one, but I don't think it will cause us any problems,” he said.

“I suppose it's better off getting it out of the way now before the big ones,” said the trainer, referring to the Caulfield Cup, Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup, which are very much on Weekend Hussler's agenda.
Regular rider Brad Rawiller was equally bullish. “The beauty of my horse is he is so adaptable. The other riders will be out to beat him, but we'll work something out,” he said.

Weekend Hussler, winner of six Group 1s last term as a three-year-old, faces another star-studded field in the A$500,000 (£223,000) event.

Among his rivals are last year's major Cup winners, Efficient (Melbourne) and Master O'Reilly (Caulfield) plus a plethora of fellow Group 1 winners like Sydney mare Tuesday Joy, Zarita, Maldivian and Pompeii Ruler, as well as the up-and-coming Guillotine.

Attached files

THE Weekend Hussler juggernaut came to a crushing halt at Flemington on Saturday when the champion was beaten out of a place for just the third time in his career in the Patinack Turnbull Stakes.

Chasing his fourth successive win this season and his eighth Group 1 victory, the superstar four-year-old failed to produce his customary dash in the $A500,000 (£220,000) event and had to be content with eighth, beaten just under six lengths, by Cups-bound Littorio.

Sent off a shade of odds on against a plethora of Group 1 winners, Weekend Hussler began well from an unfavourable draw on the wide outside in barrier 13 and regular rider Brad Rawiller was able to get him over to one off the fence in midfield.

However, he did not remain there long, and for the final six furlongs, Rawiller asked the champ to race three-wide.

Weekend Hussler was close enough rounding the home turn, but once asked for the supreme effort, he just laboured home one-paced tothe line.

The defeat was met with stunned silence by the Flemington crowd, but trainer Ross McDonald suggested he would press on with plans to step Weekend Hussler up in trip for the Caulfield Cup.

Another casualty of the event was top filly Tuesday Joy, who bled and cannot race for three months.
Littorio, a four-year-old trained by Nigel Blackiston, had shown his class over the last 12 months, with a second in the VRC Derby, a third place in the AJC Derby and similar efforts behindWeekend Hussler in both the Makybe Diva and Underwood Stakes.

Sent off 8-1 with Steven King aboard, Littorio trailed Weekend Hussler for the second half of the race and once it was clear it was not to be ‘The Hussler's day, King angled his mount out with under two furlongs to run and set out after the leaders.

Maldivian had the lead at this stage but was soon after joined and headed by Pompeii Ruler. But Littorio's finish was irresistible and he went on to win by a length from the fast-finishing Master O'Reilly, with Zipping a head back third.

Blackiston said: “It's unbelievable, hard to explain really. He has been racing super without any luck, but put that right today.”

The Turnbull is regarded as a reliable pointer to both the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups, for which the winner will now be a major fancy.

“We've done a lot of work with him to get him to relax,” said King. “He's the ideal Cups horse and he gets in with no weight.”

Ah well, super horse anyway. Still don't understand how they can be planning a Melbourne Cup tilt with a champion sprinter. Would be incredible if he pulled that off.