High bar for classy mare
9. IGA LIQUOR HANDICAP 1200m
BENCHMARK 70 grade looks too easy for progressive sprinter-miler Just Hifalutin.
The daughter of Reset has emerged from Geelong as a horse to follow this summer after winning her third race from six starts, easily accounting for her rivals over 1200m in the closing race on the Cup Day card.
The four-year-old by Reset won her first two races as a three-year-old and finished fourth in a benchmark 70 at Mornington upon resumption this campaign.
But she made light work of a big field at Geelong yesterday with Luke Currie on board.
When asked if she could head towards the Moonee Valley night series, trainer Enver Jusufovic suggested that might be setting the bar too low.
“I think she’s pretty good, so she might be a bit better than that,” Jusufovic said. “It was a terrific win. At home she works the place down but she’s just got to bring it to the races now and learn. It was a great result today.”
With plenty of prizemoney around, particularly over Melbourne Cup week, Jusufovic said he’d enjoy picking out her next race — the 1400m benchmark 90 on Melbourne Cup Day wouldn’t look out of reach Just Hifalutin. “She’s still got a low rating,” he said. “She’s still carrying a little bit of condition, she’s really bulked up.
“There’s a lot of scope in this filly; wait until she gets over 1400m and a mile.”
Currie joined Jusufovic in his praise for the progressive mare, who took her career prizemoney beyond $78,000 with the win.
“Ideally, she might get out over a bit further,” Currie said.
“She was a little bit tardy out today; I was happy to be midfield and pick our way through them and she showed a nice turn of foot when she got the room.”