She’s A Hustler (NZ) Steps Up in Tesio Stakes

Karaka graduate She’s A Hustler (NZ) (Ace High) has barely put a foot wrong in her short career, and she took it to the next level when her first start in Group company produced a win in Saturday’s A$300,000 Group Three Powerflo Solutions Tesio Stakes (2040m) at Moonee Valley.

She’s A Hustler was offered by co-breeders Rich Hill Stud in Book 1 of Karaka 2022, where bloodstock agent Phill Cataldo purchased her for $70,000. She has now had nine starts for six wins, three seconds and A$335,936 in stakes – over five times her purchase price.

She’s A Hustler began her career with one start in New Zealand for Cambridge trainers Roger James and Robert Wellwood, finishing second in a 1400-metre maiden at Matamata in December 2023. The winner Sterling Express (NZ) (Shamexpress), who beat her by three-quarters of a length in that race, is now an eight-race winner including this season’s Group Two Foxbridge Plate (1200m).

Subsequently sent across the Tasman to join the Cranbourne stable of Grahame Begg, She’s A Hustler made a winning Australian debut at Geelong and later added victories at Pakenham, Sandown (twice) and Flemington, along with a runner-up finish in the Listed Centaurea Stakes (2017m) at Morphettville in May.

She’s A Hustler stepped up on to the big stage on Saturday and showed that she was well up to the task. After trailing the front-running Sea What I See (Sea The Stars), jockey Jordan Childs drove She’s A Hustler home over the top of that rival down the short Moonee Valley straight and went clear to win by a length and a quarter.

“Full credit to Grahame Begg and the team, this is a good training performance,” Childs said. “It has been a while between runs and up to the 2000 today.

“She’s a damn good racehorse. She does everything right – jumps well, puts herself on speed and makes her own luck.

“They took off early and we really had to dig deep, because she came off the bridle quite soon, but once she got her revs up, she kept going.

“She demolished the line then, so I don’t think going up in distance would be an issue. She’s a very exciting horse for the future.”

Begg is now likely to point the five-year-old towards the Group Two Matriarch Stakes (2000m) at Flemington on November 8.

“Winners win, don’t they,” stable representative Rohan Hughes said. “She has a great record and Grahame has been careful in the way he’s raised the bar for her. I think he thought she’d go to a nice level and a race like this in this preparation.

“That was an extremely tough effort. She had to absorb a lot of pressure from the half-mile onwards, but she’s very, very genuine. It is a rare thing. Horses have got it psychologically. They are very competitive, and in the end, their record shows it.

“She’s still very lightly raced and inexperienced. She’s got good upside. She’s a big, scopey Ace High mare, and I’m sure, in time, with further development, she’s going to develop into a nice staying horse. Another 12 months down the track, she may have even more of a role to play in the spring carnival.”

She’s A Hustler became the fourth individual stakes winner for Rich Hill stallion Ace High, who has six progeny catalogued for next month’s NZB Ready to Run Sale at Karaka.

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).

Vendor	Rich Hill Stud
Purchaser	Phill Cataldo Bloodstock (Victoria)
Breeding	Ace High – Snow Petal
Sale	Lot 590, Karaka 2022 Book 1, $70,000
Breeder	Nearco Stud Ltd & Rich Hill Thoroughbreds Ltd
Owner	M & J Racing, Mr T J Auld, Mr P J Ingleby, Mr D J Duckworth, Mr T J Quinlan, Six Love, Mr J Mcelligott, Mr D N Grigg