Page 47 - September 2022

Hustling Man’s jockey Clifton DeTiege, pictured at 2015 TQHA Yearling Sale
SPEEDLINES
Old Filly. He then bred Diamond Mae to Go Man Go to get Hustling Man.
The race record for Hustling Man appears that he got off to a slow start. It took him until his fifth start to break his maiden in his first start at Ruidoso Downs. The maiden win came after four earlier starts at Sunland Park. He then finished first in an allowance race before he reverted with only a third in one
of his next three starts. It was at this point that he came alive with three straight wins in allowance company and in his trial for the All American Futurity.
He won his trial in a time of :20.44, setting the fastest qualifying time by edging out Little Chloe, winner of the La Mesa Park Juvenile, by a head. She was the third fastest qualifier. The All American
qualifiers included Mr
Juniper Bar, winner of the
Kansas Futurity and the
Oklahoma QH Exhibitor’s
Association Futurity. He
won his trial as the second
fastest qualifier.
Bar Depth
qualified with a
second to
Mr
Juniper
Bar, and another qualifier was Tiny Charger who was third in his trial to Mr Juniper Bar. Will I Win was the fourth fastest qualifier with a trial win. He had only two starts with his trial and his maiden win. Big Reward was fifth fastest qualifier, and he was second to Little Chloe in the La Mesa Park Juvenile Stakes. Lightning Belle qualified with a second in the trial Will I Win won. Dan’s Sugar Bars was second to Big Reward in their trial and he was seventh in the Kansas Futurity. Christy Go was the tenth fastest qualifier with a third in Will I Win’s trial.
With Mr Juniper Bar being the second fastest qualifier and winner of the Kansas Futurity, it appeared to be a good match up in the finals. But in a post-race interview Ferguson noted some pre-race confidence in his runner. Ferguson stated that he wasn’t worried about his colt. “Hustling Man ran a tenth of a second faster each time he ran his last three races.” He expected the colt to do the same in the All American finals.
When the gates for the finals opened, Hustling Man held true to form as he was on top by a head. He went on to win the race by 3/4-length. He won the race in a time of :20.30, a tenth of a second faster than his trial time, fulfilling Ferguson’s prediction. Second was Tiny Charger with Bar Depth third. Lightning Belle was fourth and Mr Juniper Bar fifth. The rest of the field crossed the finish line in the following order Little
Chloe, Dan’s Sugar Bars, Christy Go, Will I Win and Big Reward.
The All American Futurity purse
was $222,850 with the winner earning $96,425. His jockey was Clifton Detiege, and his trainer was Elridge Strauss. Strauss was also the trainer for Go Man Go, with his roots coming from Louisiana and the Cajun-Bred Running Horse. His father Cobb Strauss was the jockey for Della Moore we referred to earlier.
The next start for Hustling Man came in November in the Los Alamitos Thanksgiving Stakes. He won this race and then he finished out of the money in the Los Ninos Handicap with a fifth and then he was fourth in the Kindergarten Futurity. He finished the year with 17 starts, seven wins, two seconds and three thirds.
Hustling Man took a break and came back to the races in 1963, winning two starts including the South Texas Derby - his last start. His record was 19 races with nine wins, two seconds and three thirds earning $106,721.
The race career for Hustling Man came to an end with his move to Ruidoso for the summer, when he became sick and died
from what was believed to be a virus. He
was buried in the Ruidoso Downs infield alongside the great Champion Brigand. His burial in the infield is a fitting tribute for this All American Futurity winner-the horse that gave J. B. Ferguson his All American Dream.
Possumjet Wins The 1972 All American Futurity (400 Yards)
Our review of Possumjet winning the 1972 All American Futurity will begin just like our look at Hustling Man. She was home bred and raced by Jack Byers
of Blanchard, Oklahoma. This time we see that Jack Byers is not an oil man with a large ranch, but a man that made his living farming and raising livestock. He
worked for the county driving a bulldozer to supplement the family income.
Jack had horses, and one mare named My Pal Byers is the foundation of this horse story. This mare was sired by David Thomas and out of an unregistered mare named Trigger. She was reported to be a Steel Dust bred mare. My Pal Byers didn’t work out as a using horse, so she went to be bred. Her only registered foal was Byer’s Red Ant by Red Wolf by Blackburn. Byer’s Red Ant produced a number of foals, including a filly named Susie Possum by Parr Passum. It was Byers’ son-in-law Boyd Morris that recommended the breeding to Parr Passum. Morris was the jockey for Decketta, who won the 1964 All American Futurity.
Susie Possum went to the track with 15 official starts, six wins, three seconds and two thirds earning $2,549. She was stakes placed
Possumjet winning the 1972 All American Futurity.
Jack Byers, breeder and owner of Possumjet.
SPEEDHORSE September 2022 45
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