New York Lustre set to add some shine to Caulfield feature
Enver Jusufovic has already ticked off a number of bucket-list items over the past 12 months, and the Cranbourne horseman is hopeful of adding another first to his growing record of achievements when New York Lustre (Manhattan Rain) aims to register a sixth straight win in Saturday’s Sir John Monash Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m) at Caulfield.
New York Lustre is due to head to the breeding barn in the near future, with her owner-breeder Mike Howard keen to add her to his broodmare band, so needless to say a stakes win – or even placing – would be a very timely addition to her pedigree page.
If that places an extra burden on her trainer’s shoulders, the man affectionately known as ‘EJ’ isn’t showing it as he contemplates extending the lightly raced mare’s picket fence in the feature race at Caulfield, with a return to the same venue provisionally pencilled in for the Bletchingly Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) on Saturday, July 26.
Jusufovic kicked off his landmark season with a first Group 1 success when the stable’s poster boy Pinstriped (Street Boss) toppled Mr Brightside (Bullbars) in the Memsie Stakes (1400m), and the dust had barely settled on that career highlight when his homebred four-year-old Mytemptation (Squamosa) embarked on a winning spree which only came undone after he failed to handle a shifty Moonee Valley track in late March.
His mare Proved (Time Test) promptly picked up the mantle and went one better than her stablemate’s quartet of victories, heading to the paddock for a well-earned winter spell with an unblemished record of five wins from her five career starts.
Both horses recently returned to Jusufovic’s stables ahead of their spring assignments, but before then New York Lustre gets the chance to shine when she resumes her quest for six on the spin following a brief let-up of her own.
The freshen-up was prompted by a character-building interstate trip to Morphettville in mid-May when she was scratched on vets’ advice ahead of her intended stakes debut in the Proud Miss Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m), having been kicked several times by a prone horse cast under the stalls.
Jusufovic is convinced New York Lustre would have given the winner of that race, her fellow Sir John Monash Stakes nominee Cleo Cat (American Pharoah), a real run for her money but he has been in the game too long to dwell on what might have been.
Instead, he set about revising plans for New York Lustre and although he readily concedes his charge is yet to reach peak fitness and might therefore be in need of the run, a first-up record of three wins and a placing provides the confidence necessary to expect a bold effort in the $200,000 contest.
“It hasn’t been an ideal build-up to the race after the mishap in Adelaide, we’ve been chasing our tail a little bit with her but she’s certainly got a lot of talent so we’re hoping she can overcome the interrupted preparation,” Jusufovic told ANZ News.
“Jamie [Melham] galloped her on Tuesday morning and she said she was happy with her work. She did have a good blow afterwards but that’s not out of the ordinary for this mare.
“The Cranbourne track is currently rated in the heavy range so it’s difficult to get a good gauge on exactly where she’s at, but she seemed to get through it well enough and she’s pretty adept on all ground, so it wouldn’t bother her too much if it came up wet at Caulfield on Saturday.
“Not many horses can win five in a row and it would be a first for me if she could get a sixth win on the board. Her owner also bred her so he’s obviously pretty keen to get some black type with her before she becomes a mum. We haven’t thought further than the Bletchingly at this stage, but if she could win a stakes race I would think it might be job done for her.”
Like the vast majority of horses in the stable, New York Lustre sports the red, white and black colours of her trainer’s beloved St Kilda FC. In his youth, Jusufovic was a reasonably talented footballer and also represented his home state of Victoria in volleyball before his body started failing him and, following a conversation in a milk bar with former trainer Mick Bell, he decided to turn his attention to preparing equine athletes for competitive battle.
Ever the student, Jusufovic still applies the lessons he acquired during the course of his own sporting journey to his training methodology.
“Patience is the cheapest thing in racing and the least used” was one of Bart Cummings’ many famous lines, and while the naturally humble Jusufovic would inevitably baulk at any comparisons to a man who saddled up 12 Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) winners, he is an equally avid advocate of the virtues of patience.
Despite approaching her sixth birthday, New York Lustre has raced on just eight occasions and has only missed a placing once, with Jusufovic perhaps given the luxury of time that may not be afforded to other training stables with a more demanding client base.
“She’s just taken her time to mature so I didn’t want to rush her into racing if I didn’t think she was ready for it,” he said.
“I suppose I’m in a slightly different position to some trainers, especially the bigger operations, who might try to push horses to get ready for two and three-year-old races because they’ve got such big numbers in their system. Because I’m much more hands-on than some, I probably get more of an opportunity to assess each horse on its merits.
“When I was growing up, although I was a very enthusiastic participant in a number of sports, I was still quite immature physically compared to a lot of the blokes I was competing against. But when I turned 20, I was regularly beating those same guys because I had taken the time and effort to improve myself, whereas they had stayed at the same level they were at when they were 15 or 16.
“I’ve found that with the majority of horses, you just need to give them enough time to find their feet and show their best. I think it’s why I’ve had such a good run with New York Lustre and those other good horses in my stable. I really took time to assess their ability and find out what makes them tick, then once you’ve done that it gives you the confidence to train them a certain way and gives them the confidence to compete at their best on raceday.
“There’s so much prize-money in racing these days that I think some people might get caught up trying to chase it, rather than doing what is best for the horse. I think if you look after horses and don’t push them until they’re really ready to race, then there’s still plenty of gold at the end of the rainbow. It’s just a matter of identifying your product. If you look at racing these days, there aren’t many that continue to race on as six or seven-year-olds, a lot are washed up by the time they’re four or five.”
As if to illustrate his point, Jusufovic believes his rising seven-year-old Pinstriped is going as well as ever ahead of a spring preparation which he hopes can incorporate at least one more big performance.
Jusufovic pulled up stumps after a pair of below-par autumn runs for the son of Street Boss (Street Cry), but he has thrived during his time off and is raring to resume in the PB Lawrence Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m) at Caulfield in just over a month’s time.
“He’s been going really well,” said Jusufovic.
“He weighs about 600 kilos and looks fantastic, so he’s ahead of schedule and at this stage I couldn’t be happier with him. We’ve really looked after him and it’s probably the best we’ve had him at this time of the year.
“We know he goes well fresh so I’d expect him to run well in the PB Lawrence, then all being well we’ll try to win another Memsie with him after that. Once you’ve won a Group 1, you definitely get a taste for more.”