Buy of the Weekend: $18k Philosopher rewards Enver Jusufovic’s perseverance

Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything

Once an $800,000 yearling that sold to the bid of James Harron, Philosopher (Zoustar) appeared at first to be one those juveniles with ability, but couldn’t quite put it together to go up the grades. A debut winner at Caulfield under the stewardship of Anthony and Sam Freedman, and subsequently third in the Listed Blue Diamond Preview (colts & geldings) behind future stallion Daumier, he then wouldn’t win or place again until he was a 4-year-old.

It’s a common story, and 18 months after he nearly reached seven figures in the Gold Coast sales rings, Philosopher was offered online via Inglis Digital, where W Carey paid just $18,000 to secure him. He entered the stable of Enver Jusufovic. Despite powering home in jump-outs, it would take another year for him to win another race.

Hard work pays off

Jusufovic is no stranger to a bit of hard work and perseverance. When he started working at Cranbourne under Greg Eurell, the trainer initially didn’t believe he had what it takes to make it as a trainer - and told him as such. Nevertheless, Jusufovic persevered and started to train part-time in the nineties, saddling his first winner at Stony Creek in 1994, before going full-time eight years later in 2002.

His stable star Pinstriped (Street Boss {USA}) was a bargain buy himself, acquired for $80,000 from Noorilim Park by Jusufovic and Gary Mudgway Bloodstock at the Magic Millions Gold Coast National Weanling Sale. The winner of his first three starts, including victory in the G3 CS Hayes Stakes, the 6-year-old gelding has won just shy of $1.8 million in prize money, and gave Jusufovic his first Group 1 win in August of last year when winning the G1 Memsie Stakes.

Philosopher benefited from such patience, and rewarded Jusufovic at Mornington in December 2023, winning a Class 1 by 2l. He backed this performance up a fortnight later at Cranbourne and again the following weekend, with his win at Moonee Valley bringing his prize money for just that preparation to $108,359. Not a bad return already on an $18,000 online purchase and a year’s worth of patience.

The then 4-year-old gelding was second last January in a BM78 behind Mornington Glory (Shalaa), who would go on to win a G1 Moir Stakes eight months later. He picked up his fifth career win in February at the Valley, and made the step up into stakes company towards the end of the spring with a fourth placing in the Listed Century Stakes, with his win at the weekend putting his name in big black-type.

First time’s the charm

Saturday was the 5-year-old’s first time to Sandown and it seems he found the course a natural fit, surging away by 2.25l to win the Listed WJ Adams Stakes under Michael Dee, in what was Dee’s sixth ride back from injury. With Jusufovic over at Karaka attending the New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale, his foreman Brian Sochalingum was on track to witness the gelding’s sixth career victory in almost record time, just 0.3s off Cocinero’s (Encosta De Lago) course record set in 2005.

“It’s amazing,” said Sochalingum. “He’s always shown heaps of ability.

“I think he’s been carrying a lot of weight this prep and finally got a manageable weight, back to his 1000-metre distance, and first time at Sandown suited.”

Since a jump-out in early December, following his finish at the tail end of the field in the $1 million The Meteorite, Philosopher has been steadily gaining with every run. He finished fourth at Caulfield Heath behind rising star Grand Larceny (Zoustar), then third and second placings behind Title Fighter (Lean Mean Machine) on the way into Saturday.

The performance brings Philosopher to a total of $456,975 in stakes, of which $357,275 has been won in Jusufovic’s care. He is now only a handful of good runs short of earning back that yearling purchase price.

“He needs his space, he doesn’t like to be boxed in so he needs to go when he wants to go and get into a rhythm, so today, although he was following some horses, he got into that rhythm when he had something to chase.”

It was three years almost to the day that Philosopher picked up that first bit of blacktype with his Preview placing, a race won by Shining Smile (Spirit Of Boom) on the same day as his Listed victory.

“I thought he (Philosopher) could put in a performance like that because he’s been ultra-consistent,” said Dee. “And he certainly deserved that one.

Boosting the pedigree

Such a price - $800,000 - is a lot to fork out for a first foal, particularly from an unraced mare, but Philosopher’s dam Lone (Sepoy) atones for her own lack of performance with a powerful pedigree page. When her first son headed through the ring four years ago, she was bolstered by her half-siblings Gai’s Choice (General Nediym), Atmospherical (Northern Meteor), and Peron (Husson {Arg}), all of whom were Listed winners. Gai’s Choice had already produced I Like It Easy (Pierro), winner of the Listed Reginald Allen Handicap.

That page has flourished since, as I Like It Easy entered stud and had just delivered Facile (Trapeze Artist) the spring before Philosopher took a trip to the Gold Coast. Winner of the G3 PJ Bell Stakes and twice placed at G2 level, Facile was sold at the Magic Millions Gold Coast National Broodmare Sale last year for $700,000 to Alma Vale Thoroughbreds, and continues her career in the hands of Peter Snowden.

Another half-sister to Lone is Juan Diva (Snitzel), who was already a dual winner in 2021, and has since added valuable blacktype to her own record with a win in the G3 WJ Healy Stakes and placings at Listed level. Seeing how well the family fairs with Northern Meteor’s sire line, she started her stud career with a visit to Zoustar and delivered a colt in the spring before visiting Capitalist, ahead of export to New Zealand, into the care of Trelawney Stud.

Lone’s other foals have been building the page; it would have been a double celebration for Widden Stud, Philosopher’s breeder, at the weekend when Lone’s 3-year-old son Lone Artist (Trapeze Artist) broke his maiden on Thursday. Her 2-year-old Tropic (Zoustar), a $440,000 purchase for China Horse Club, Newgate, Go Bloodstock, and Trilogy at the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale last year, has shown significant promise, winning his first trial in October and running a narrow second at his most recent appearance. He has accepted for the G3 Canonbury Stakes at the weekend, as well as a juvenile maiden race at Canterbury on Friday.

That is all to say that Lot 280 at the Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale in March, a chestnut filly out of Lone by Widden’s resident Trapeze Artist, is likely to not come as cheap as her half-brother.