GALWAY HUSSLER LULLS HER OPPOSION INTO A FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY. SMASHES THEM LATE

By Graham Potter | Thursday, September 7, 2023

The Corey and Kylie Geran trained Galway Hussler overcame a bungled start and a six-length early deficit to pulverize her opposition in no uncertain terms, laying it down to them in the straight before powering away to win every bit as easily and impressively as the official three length winning margin suggests in a QTIS Three-Year-Old BM60 Handicap over 1100m at Gatton on September 7.

The three-year-old daughter of Husson took five starts to shed her Maiden ticket, but she was a model of consistency before landing that first success, featuring in the placings in all four starts leading up to that win, which came over the 1000m trip at the Sunshine Coast.

Her follow-up run, when finishing fourth behind the smart Show Me Mercy (who is unbeaten in two starts) in a QTIS Three-Year-Old BM68 Handicap over 1000m, was always going to bring her on, if nothing else giving the lightly raced filly some necessary race experience so that, when she arrived at Gatton with that extra run under her belt and facing nothing like the strength of opposition she had tackle at her previous start, it looked like she was going to be right in this race.

Some of that level of optimism would have taken a hit when Galway Hussler (a $3.60 third favourite) blundered out of the gates, with Micheal Hellyer going up in the saddle and having to take hold a few strides into the race, a combination of factors which took the Geran trained runner back to last.

Hellyer not only handled that misstep at the start well, but he also held his nerve in terms of allowing Galway Hussler time to settle into a comfortable enough rhythm, even when the gap to the leader increased from six to seven lengths mid-race.

Hellyer then asked Galway Dancer to start improving coming through the 700m mark she did make ground, now hard ridden, to move to within a little under four lengths of the lead approaching the home turn ... but it still looked a big ask.

It was a case of Galway Hussler having to reel in four horses in the run home if she was to get the win. She dispatched the first of those very quickly, then set about chasing the line of three horses in front of her.

At the 200m mark, even though she was coming on nicely, it still looked like it might be a close contest … but Galway Hussler was just stringing everybody along and when Hellyer gave her free rein, she simply bounded past her rivals, securing the lead as early as approaching the 100m mark, and then turning those last 100m into a victory procession, leaving her opposition struggling in her wake as she went to the line, easing up with ears pricked.

She was just too good.

That’s two wins and four minor placings now with prize-money closing in on the $100 000 mark … and another win for KO Racing.

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