Hussler has more to prove

Weekend Hussler is not yet a champion galloper but he is certainly a champion three-year-old.

The term champion is an overused term in sport, particularly in racing, and Weekend Hussler still needs to display another two seasons of dominance before the cap fits.

But his deeds from his three-year-old season have been phenomenal. He already has five Group One wins this season, a feat achieved by champions such as Manikato, Might And Power, Octagonal and Sunline,

A win in the weight-for-age George Ryder Stakes will see him equal the record set by Kingston Town.

Not only has Weekend Hussler thrashed the best from his year level, he has also beaten the country's elite open-age sprinters and won at the highest level in Sydney and Melbourne.

The only two three-year-olds to win the Oakleigh Plate-Newmarket Handicap double in Melbourne in recent history were greats Placid Ark (1987) and Schillaci (1992).

Weekend Hussler's effort to win with 56kg in the Newmarket set a metric weight-carrying record. Schillaci and Placid Ark carried 55.5kg and 55.kg respectively in their successes.

Unlike that pair, Weekend Hussler has proven himself to be more than just a short-course sprinter.

He has won two Group Ones over the mile and will get the chance to prove his credentials over a staying trip later this season when trainer Ross McDonald sets him for a tilt at the Cox Plate and possibly the Melbourne Cup.

However, 12 months ago we were predicting great things from Miss Finland. She had dominated her age group as a two- and three-year-old over sprint and staying trips but lost interest in racing as a four-year-old.

Same with Octagonal, who won Sydney's triple crown in the autumn of 1996 only to underperform in Melbourne's spring carnival later that year, though admittedly he restored his reputation in 1997 with three more Group One wins.

Unlike that pair, Weekend Hussler was not raced when he was two and, being a gelding, will not have his mind buzzing with the birds and the bees.

Whether or not Weekend Hussler can win the Ryder and the Doncaster Handicap - in which he has been lumped 57.5kg, 3.5kg more than any other three-year-old has carried to victory - will not take the shine off his reputation.

But it will be what he does as an older horse over a middle distance which will determine whether he can join the likes of Phar Lap and Makybe Diva as one of Australia's best of all time or be remembered as a champion three-year-old who could not go on with it.