Zipping Classic Caps Breakthrough Spring for She’s A Hustler (NZ)

Within the space of four starts this spring, rising star Karaka graduate She’s A Hustler (NZ) (Ace High) has gone from Benchmark 78 grade to Group Two glory at weight-for-age.

Saturday’s A$750,000 Group Two Big Screen Company Zipping Classic (2400m) at Caulfield was the seventh win of an 11-race career for She’s A Hustler, who has placed in the other four and has earned A$842,256. She was a $70,000 purchase by Phill Cataldo Bloodstock from Rich Hill's Book 1 draft of Karaka 2022.

Cranbourne trainer Grahame Begg kicked off She’s A Hustler’s breakthrough spring with a win in a Benchmark 78 race for mares at Flemington on September 21. The five-year-old mare then stepped into stakes company with a win in the Group Three Tesio Stakes (2040m) at Moonee Valley, followed by a second in the Group Two Matriarch Stakes (2000m) at Flemington.

Her upwards trajectory hit another peak with an outstanding performance in the Zipping Classic on Saturday, and now Begg is considering a campaign aimed at next year’s Group One Caulfield Cup (2400m).

“You have to have those ambitions,” he said. “She’s a beauty, a winning machine. She’s never finished further back than second in 11 starts, with seven wins. How good’s that?

“We may go to Brisbane for one or two runs up there in the winter, something like the Q22 (Group Two, 2200m) and then back down here to Melbourne. The Q22 is a great race and it sets them up for the spring.”

She’s A Hustler was ridden by Jordan Childs and took up a handy position in third. She appeared to be under pressure coming up to the home turn, but found plenty more down the straight and surged to victory by a short neck. There was a margin of two and a quarter lengths back to third.

“She toughed it out,” Begg said. “She came under pressure early. She’s still learning her craft. She doesn’t know what she’s doing in a race. They came up around her in a bit of a wave. The pressure went on, but she sustained that and was still strong late.

“Something similar happened in the Tesio Stakes. They came up around her and she was under pressure at the 600 metres and she was able sustain that and be strong late. It was a similar scenario today. Full credit to her at weight-for-age. She wasn’t well-weighted under the conditions of the race, but you know what, she’s a winner.”

The dam of She’s A Hustler is Snow Petal (Bernardini), the winner of two races and a daughter of Group One winner Zirna (NZ) (Deputy Governor). Snow Petal is also a half-sister to the Group Three winner and black-type produced Crafty Irna (Starcraft).

Snow Petal is the dam of five winners from five foals to race, with two of them black-type performers. Her son Freeze Frame (NZ) (Vadamos) won five races and placed in the Group Three Winter Cup (1600m).