Queensland training partners Tony and Maddysen Sears haven’t enjoyed the best of luck in previous Sydney visits with Yellow Brick, but all will be forgotten if the horse can deliver them a $2 million windfall in the Five Diamonds at Rosehill.
The father and daughter team brought the horse south for a Golden Eagle tilt 12 months ago but didn’t make it to their grand final when he became sick following his final lead-up run in the Silver Eagle.
Returning last autumn, Yellow Brick didn’t make it that far.
“Every time we have brought this particular horse down, he has gotten sick,” Maddy Sears said.
“He got sick after the Silver Eagle, then I was down here at the start of the (autumn) carnival when he was supposed to race in the Show County (Quality), but he got sick on the Friday night before the race.
“We’re calling this third time lucky now.”
The winner of eight of his 18 starts in Queensland, Yellow Brick is proven up to a mile but has never raced beyond it.
Maddy Sears says that has been through circumstance, rather than design, and fully expects him to appreciate the jump to 1800m on Saturday.
She is also looking for a much-improved effort on his last start fourth to Saturday’s rival Iknowastar in the Five Diamonds Prelude (1500m) when a combination of him feeling too well and failing to find cover resulted in him over-racing.
“The trip down and having a day off before the day of the race freshened him up too much, he was fierce and over-raced and he hasn’t done that in quite a few starts,” Sears said.
“On Saturday you are going to see a very different horse.
“His work since that race has been absolutely phenomenal, he has gone ahead in a forward trajectory like we wanted him to and improved again off that run.
“We’re hoping if he runs the distance, which we don’t think will be any problem, he’s going to be super competitive.”
Sears is also rapt to have the services of Jason Collett.
Several people tipped him as the right fit for Yellow Brick and after he put the five-year-old through his paces at Randwick last weekend, Sears can only agree.
“We think he will really suit him. He’s got quiet, soft hands but he is also very aggressive and strong in a finish and a lot of people told us he is the man for the horse,” Sears said.
“He made the effort to come and gallop him for me on Saturday and he was very impressed with him and the horse seemed to travel very nicely for him.”
Yellow Brick will have to overcome an awkward draw in barrier 14 but Sears is hoping there is enough speed in the race for Collett to slot in and find cover.
He was a $7 chance on Thursday following the scratching of Docklands, who had been heavily backed into favouritism.
