Former paper boy Jusufovic hopes Pinstriped can deliver a first Group 1
As a young boy growing up in Footscray, Enver Jusufovic delivered Herald newspapers at Flemington and would regularly park his bike at the fence of the racetrack to admire the horses as they went through their paces early in the morning.
Decades later, the humble Yugoslav from the Western Suburbs of Melbourne is only a step away from standing on the Group 1 stage at the world-famous racecourse as a trainer with a horse called Pinstriped (Street Boss).
The big chestnut gelding with a perfect white blaze earned himself a place in the Australian Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) in two weeks’ time after a stunning victory in the CS Hayes Stakes (Gr 3, 1400m) on Saturday.
It was the biggest win of Jusufovic’s career so far and now he’s hoping the horse can go on and deliver him a first Group 1 success.
“To win the Australian Guineas would earn me respect. That would be the biggest thing for me and show that I have climbed the mountain from my background,” Jusufovic said yesterday.
“To achieve that would be a feather in my cap and prove people can do it if they want to and that if you have that desire you can do anything in life.”
From a working-class background, Jusufovic was a late starter to the training ranks. He spent his early adulthood delivering Four N Twenty Pies all over Melbourne until a chance meeting with a horseman on one of his delivery runs changed all that.
“I met trainer Mick Bell at a milk bar. He was a farrier then and he was cash strapped and working for Tip-Top at the time and we met at 5am and he said to come out to his property for a look,” explained Jusufovic.
“I left soon afterward and got a job with trainer Greg Eurell. He’d just left the showjumping scene. I had not touched a horse or had any experience at that stage. I stayed working with Greg for quite a while. I learned a lot from Greg about horsemanship.
“Eventually, I wanted my own brand and I started a breaking and pre-training business.”
His desire to apply for a trainer’s licence soon took over but it was met with some scepticism from officialdom.
“Pat Lalor was the chief steward at the time. He only gave me a picnic licence and I was devastated,” Jusufovic continued. “My first runner didn’t come out of the barriers. It was a tried horse but I went on to win two races with it after it hadn’t won a race in the three years prior.
“I then got my owner-trainer licence and progressed from there. A couple of years ago, I saw Pat and he said ‘you are doing a good job, I didn’t think you would last’.
“That was probably because I knew nothing and he could see right through me. But he could see the passion. I just had no understanding of how everything went at that point in time.”
What he didn’t know then, he sure does know now. Over time, he’s developed an astute eye for a horse and his patient training methods have earned him enormous respect in the training ranks.
Proof of his good judgement is Pinstriped, which he and Gary Mudgway selected and purchased as a weanling from the 2019 Magic Millions National Weanling Sale for $80,000.
“I thought that’s it, I have to have that one. He was the type I like. Athletic and not robust and a horse that would suit my training and would progress and progress and progress,” Jusufovic recalled. “He had a really good temperament and I liked his eye, it was extremely genuine and he had that smart look about him.
“I had a budget of $50,000 credit and someone joined in the bidding at $50,000 and then it was on. I had him at $80,000 and I thought no more I can’t go anymore and lucky the hammer dropped.
“He was the one I wanted but I’m used to walking away these days. Fortunately, I was able to get him and syndicate him fairly quickly, which was good.”
In three unbeaten starts he’s more than repaid his owners, earning $265,000 in prize-money and a shot at a Group 1 three-year-old Classic. Not surprisingly, some lucrative offers have started to come in from Hong Kong.
“I said to the owners at the presentation on Saturday, because we have had significant interest from Hong Kong, that with me it’s not about the money, it’s about racing and looking after the animal and I have wanted all my life to have a Group 1 winner. These horses are so hard to get,” Jusufovic said.
“Money won’t change my life. I will still lead a simple life. It’s all about leaving your mark in your lifetime. I recently lost a potential Group horse with septicemia and it died. That was a real kick in the guts. I have had some very good horses, but not a great horse.”
Twenty five years into his training career, and with a small team of 20 in work, it looks like Jusufovic has finally got that elusive “great horse” but he’s not getting too carried away with it all.
“This is unchartered territory for me. I normally win a maiden and am looking at benchmark races after that,” he said.
“I’m not used to this sort of pressure at this level. I try to keep things in perspective and every decision I make I try to keep it simple.”
Staying true to that philosophy might just see him realise the dream he had as a paperboy around Flemington, the dream to one day have a horse of his own and win a Group 1.
“It’s about making your mark the right way. Hopefully, I can be on top of the summit in two weeks’ time,” he said.