Cranbourne trainer Enver Jusufovic has a good opinion of his debut winner Pinstriped but believes he is under the odds as he prepares for his race return at The Valley.
A debut winner on heavy ground at Moe in September, Pinstriped will have his second career outing in the $175,000 VOBIS Gold Carat (1200m) on Saturday.
TAB has Pinstriped listed as the market leader at $2.70 with Finance Tycoon second pick at $3.30.
Depending on Pinstriped’s performance on Saturday, Jusufovic is considering an entry for the Group 1 Australian Guineas (1600m) at Flemington on March 5 for which nominations close on Monday.
“My gut feel is he’s well under the odds,” Jusufovic told RSN.
“I think he’s going to make good 1400-metre to a miler type. He’s got that good action, he’s a horse that races on pace.
“He’s not screwed down for this race, even though it is good prizemoney, but I feel he’s going to improve significantly after this.
“They could be a bit sharp for him, but he has got a bit of talent.
“As for the Australian Guineas, nominations close on Monday. I’ve got an open mind and will assess him on what he does on Saturday.”
While Pinstriped was successful on heavy ground on debut, Jusufovic expects the son of Street Boss to be better back on top of the ground while also being a bigger and stronger version.
Jusufovic said he had contemplated scratching Pinstriped from his debut and put down the victory to him handling the track better than his opposition while potentially having more ability than his rivals.
“I had given him a really good foundation and preparation to go to the races, he had ticked all the boxes and I thought if I gave him a break after that, he would fill out,” Jusufovic said.
“He was like a skinny 19-year-old centre half-forward, but he spelled and filled out and could play a key position now.”
