You could argue that there is no horse who deserved a maiden victory more than Gusmao, having ten starts including five second-placings, all by under a length, including two narrow photo finishes. Gusmao finally repaid the faith of his connections, in a dominant display at Donald on Sunday March 26.
It has been a long road for the son of Dissident and his connections, yet Freedman’s patient approach for the horses has paid dividends, with the consistent gelding earning a well-deserved break through. He was a $50,000 Melbourne Premier purchase from Supreme Thoroughbreds and has a loyal group of owners who are always there to cheer him on, rail hail or shine. Included in the ownership group is prominent racing journalist’s Damien Ractliffe syndicate ‘NEXT GEN OF RACING’ who are a group of young, like-minded individuals with an interest to get involved in racing, we are thrilled to have a winner for the group!
A relieved Freedman said post-race “It was a pleasing result for connections to see Gusmao get the victory. He has been very consistent and we think now full of confidence, he should be winning another race very quickly.”
The silver lining of Gusmao taking ten starts to break his maiden has resulted in him receiving a 58 rating, making him eligible for 0-58 racing. We feel he will be very competitive in that grade and will be one to follow through the grades.
Join us in congratulating the connections of Gusmao and we hope to see them in the winners stall again soon!
