‘Haven’t seen the best of him’: Yellow Brick lays down $2m marker for Five Diamonds

His trainers says Queensland weapon Yellow Brick hasn’t yet hit his peak, but that could change this campaign as he stretches out in distance on a rich Sydney mission.

Trainers Maddy and Tony Sears are adamant that racing fans haven’t seen the best of Queensland star Yellow Brick.

They insist we have only seen the tip of the iceberg and Yellow Brick’s full potential will be realised this campaign when he steps out in distance to the 1800m of the $2m Five Diamonds at Rosehill Gardens in November.

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In a 16-start career which has scooped $1.56m in prizemoney, Yellow Brick has never raced beyond 1600m and has largely been kept to sprint trips.

“Both Dad and I still say to this day that you haven’t seen the best of the horse because he hasn’t got out over a trip,” Maddy Sears said.

“We keep him fresh for those 1200m races because they have often suited.

“But Dad and I have always believed that he is almost a 2000m horse.”

Yellow Brick resumed with a fast-finishing effort at his home Toowoomba track, runner-up in the Listed Weetwood Handicap (1200m) for the second year in a row.

.@tonygollan claims back-to-back Weetwood Handicap's from @CliffordPark_ as HIDDEN WEALTH takes out this year's feature under the steady hands of Ange Jones 🌸🏆#QLDisRacing🏇 pic.twitter.com/i8QlCe5Jsc

— RaceQ (@RaceQLD) September 28, 2024

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The well-performed five-year-old gelding will step up to the 1400m of the Members Cup at Eagle Farm on Saturday before being sent to Sydney for a lucrative two-run mission.

Yellow Brick is poised to run in the Five Diamonds Prelude (1500m) at Randwick on October 26 before attacking the riches of the Five Diamond over 1800m at Rosehill a fortnight later.

Originally, the Sears’ team was set to deploy Yellow Brick in Sydney on Saturday in the $1.5m Alan Brown Stakes (1400m) at Rosehill before changing plans and entering at Eagle Farm, where Andrew Mallyon will ride.

“Our original plan was the Weetwood and then the Alan Brown, then we were going to bring him home and he would go down there again to Sydney for a Five Diamonds campaign,” Maddy Sears said.

“But we changed things a bit. The only reason we are running him in Brisbane on Saturday is so that he doesn’t have two lots of travel to Sydney.

“It just seemed to map better that we can take him an hour and a half down the road, for him to run in a decent race here, compared to taking him to Sydney and then having an extra trip.”

Yellow Brick wins at Eagle Farm during the Brisbane Winter Carnival. Picture: Grant Peters / Trackside Photography

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Red Wave, the Toowoomba and Ipswich Cup winner, will accompany Yellow Brick on a Sydney trip and race in the Group 3 Craven Plate (1800m) at Randwick on October 26.

Yellow Brick is not at his best on rain-affected tracks and southeast Queensland has been beset by thunderstorm activity this week.

“Even with some rain and these storms, the good thing is this race on Saturday is at Eagle Farm which dries out pretty well,” Sears said.

“Out to 1400m is also in Yellow Brick’s favour and looking at the race, he isn’t in too badly at the weights.”

Yellow Brick will carry topweight of 60.5kg in Saturday’s Eagle Farm contest.

Originally published as ‘Haven’t seen the best of him’: Yellow Brick lays down $2m marker for Five Diamonds