More Than Ready 3yo Lusaha will go straight into black-type ranks following a remarkable victory at Ascot on Wednesday.
The Perth-based gelding was very impressive winning for the first time in town but it wasn’t straightforward. He looked beaten before raising a gear and responding to defeat Blackline in the Melbourne Cup @ Ascot Hcp (1200m).
“He did things wrong early in the race and is still learning,” trainer Dan Morton said after the second-up result. “The leader got a break in the straight and made him stretch his neck. He will strip much better for the run.”
Lusaha (3g More Than Ready – Rose of Hallowell by Commands) is from a sister to ill-fated colt Court Command who won the 2009 Golden Rose and Stan Fox in Sydney before a brave third in the G1 Caulfield Guineas
A homebred for Craig Thompson’s Mt Hallowell Stud, he was with David Harrison earlier this year and finished third to top filly Whispering Brook in the LR Supremacy Stakes at Ascot.
Lusaha returned after a six-month break on October 9 and Morton kicked off with a three-length pipe-opener at Northam. Next up is the LR Fairetha Stakes (1400m) on November 5 followed by the G2 WA Guineas (1600m) on November 19.
“He’s still a work in progress but has got the job done both times since a spell,” Morton noted. “There’s plenty of natural improvement to come when he steps up next month.”
More Than Ready’s Group 1 winning mare Perfect Reflection resumed in Perth on October 15 and was only short of match practice when a close-up third in the G3 Northerly Stakes (1400m). She is the $6 favourite to make it back-to-back victories in the G1 Kingston Town Stakes (1800m) on December 3.
