Master horseman Chris Alford has worked wonders with Confused Superstar
If Joe Gulifa had his way, he wouldn’t have had a runner in Friday night’s $50,000 Group 1 Metro Printing Vicbred Super Series 4YO Trotters Final (2240m) at Melton’s Tabcorp Park.
The prominent owner’s representative, Confused Superstar, was one of four horses he bought at the 2008 Australian Pacing Gold Melbourne Sale and as one of the first sons of Elsu, Gulifa dreamed his purchase would one day scale similar heights to his Inter Dominion-winning father.
You can imagine Gulifa’s surprise when he learned the colt, out of the My Handsome Fella mare Pumpkin, preferred trotting to pacing.
“Tim O’Brien and Brooke Hansen broke them all in and they said about him, ‘This bloke here is just hopeless (as a pacer), but you know what, I think he trots’,” Guilifa recalled.
“I said, ‘oh my God, what do I do now’? I’d raced 50-odd horses and I’d never had a trotter.”
But now Gulifa wouldn’t have it any other way. Confused Superstar – named in keeping with Gulifa’s tradition of incorporating the word “star” into all his horses – made an early impression winning half his first six starts before galloping in the Breeders Crown Final.
After a delayed start to his three-year-old season, Confused Superstar was sent to New Zealand to campaign for Mark Purdon and while he galloped in most of his six races there he did stay down long enough to win once.
Gulifa brought Confused Superstar back to Australia midway through last year but injury ended his Breeders Crown three-year-old campaign before it began.
Arcadia trainer Peter Cormican was then entrusted with training duties, but after an unflattering first-up run, Gulifa questioned the horse’s future.
Had Bolinda horseman Chris Alford not intervened, it's unlikely that he would still race in Gulifa’s orange, black stars and gold sleeves.
“We got him going again but his first start back this season he was absolutely shocking,” Gulifa recalled. “Chris drove him and he was lapped, absolutely hopeless.
“I said to Chris, ‘I don’t really know what to do with this horse, I’m just about to give him away’, but Chris said he’d take him for a month and see if he can find out what the problem is.
“Ever since that he’s just gone incredible. He’s continued to improve and improve and improve. To be where it’s at today is a big shock to me to be honest because if Chris hadn’t got him going, I probably would have just retired him or given him away.”
Confused Superstar has had five starts for Alford, registering three wins and two seconds. He was runner-up to Mister Castleton in 2:00.7 in his Vicbred heat two starts back before strolling home in a T0-T4 event at Coolamon on ANZAC Day.
He has drawn well in barrier four for the 2240-metre mobile final and while Gulifa concedes Let Me Thru’s little sister Miss Bullion (barrier three), from the all-conquering Chris Lang yard, is the horse to beat, he remains optimistic.
“He’s got a good draw and I think he’s got a very good chance of winning the race to tell you the truth,” Gulifa said. “I haven’t spoken to Chris lately, but he’s just continued to improve and he’s running good times.”
Well-drawn consistent mare Shes Commando (1), Mister Castleton (10), former Redwood winner Elusive Charm (12) and Victoria Trotters Derby heroine Jingling Silver (13) are among Confused Superstar’s other rivals in the Vicbred final, which will be run at 10:14pm.
It headlines another bumper night of Vicbred action with a pair of semi-finals for the four-year-old entires and geldings also a part of the quality nine-race card that begins at 6:43pm.
