Briasa announces himself as next sprint star with determined win in The Hunter at Newcastle

Lightly-raced galloper Briasa overcame a torrid run to score in The Hunter at Newcastle on Saturday.

Briasa produced a gallant performance to win the Group 2 The Hunter at Newcastle. Picture: Getty Images

Hall of Fame trainer John Hawkes predicted the best is yet to come from brave Briasa after the gallant grey found a way to win at Newcastle on Saturday.

Briasa endured a tough run three-wide without cover in a race run at a brutal tempo but he showed tremendous courage and determination to take out the Group 2 $1m The Hunter (1300m).

“It was a very good win,” the champion trainer said. “He’s done a great job this spring so he can go for a spell now.

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“He’s a really nice horse, he should be unbeaten, and he’s got a bright future.”

In a desperate, thrilling finish, Briasa ($3.10 favourite), ridden by Tyler Schiller, wore down feisty leader Felix Majestic ($31) to win by a nose with last year’s Hunter hero Coal Crusher ($10) a length away third.

Topweight and dual Group 1 winner Private Eye ($6.50) was last and under pressure on the turn before he worked home to finish eighth while The Kosciuszko winner Far Too Easy missed the start and was never in the contest beating only Royal Merchant to the line.

Briasa stopped the clock at a very fast 1mim 16.09sec which compared favourably with Coal Crusher’s race and course record of 1mim 15.49sec set 12 months ago.

Punters cleaned up on Briasa with TAB holding some big bets including $5500 at $3.20, $4000 at $2.80, $3100 at $3, $3,000 at $3.10 and multiple $2,000 bets at $2.90.

A star on the rise! ⭐️

Briasa sits three-wide with no cover throughout and wins The Hunter! @HawkesRacing@G1TySchil 👏 pic.twitter.com/Gta97iJ2Rv

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) November 16, 2024

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Schiller went back-to-back in The Hunter on Briasa and the jockey had nothing but praise for the Team Hawkes-trained sprinter.

“Briasa doesn’t know how to lose, he just loves a dogfight,” Schiller enthused.

“Hats off to the second horse (Felix Majestic), he dug deep and it took me until the last stride or two to get him.

“We thought it would have been easier than it was but being three-wide the trip wasn’t great.

“I would have loved to have got into the one-one but there was just a bit too much speed for him early.

“But he is a lovely laid-back horse, he has a lot of talent and the Hawkes team has a big opinion of him.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he is a Group 1 horse, he has ample talent.”

Schiller said Briasa’s obvious brilliance would suggest the four-year-old is best suited over sprint distances but didn’t rule out the gelding getting out to as far as 1600,

“He has probably gone 1400m today. He’s a tough horse and just loves winning,” the jockey added.

Hawkes, who trains in partnership with his sons Michael and Wayne, said there is no rush to get Briasa out in distance.

“There are plenty of races around 1200m for him in the autumn,” Hawkes said.

“This win enables us to get him into just about any race we want in the autumn. He has to go to another level yet but he just might do it.”

"In 12 months time I could probably see him in an Everest..."

Steve Thompson from @HawkesRacing has a massive opinion of Briasa! pic.twitter.com/KMWtGZ7GqB

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) November 16, 2024

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Briasa is raced by owner-breeder Ian Johnson and his son, Dr Anthony Johnson, and improved his record to six wins (and an unlucky fourth) from just seven starts for career earnings of more than $900,000.

Ian Johnson is best known as the breeder of Viewed, winner of the 2008 Melbourne Cup and 2009 Caulfield Cup.

“The owners are lovely people, they are very patient and let us train their horse, so it means a lot to win this race for them,” Hawkes said.

Although Briasa is going to the spelling paddock, trainer Gary Nickson is going to aim Felix Majestic at the Group 2 $2m The Ingham (1600m) at Royal Randwick next month.

“I thought he was going to win,” Nickson said of Felix Majestic.

“But he tried his heart out and that is all you can ask of the horse. It was a big thrill to watch him fight so far.

“I’ve always said on a good track, he’s a very good horse. We will go to the Festival Stakes in two weeks and then all going well I would like to run him in The Ingham. He deserves his chance in these big races.”

Originally published as Briasa announces himself as next sprint star with determined win in The Hunter at Newcastle