Trainer backs matured Yellow Brick to secure Weetwood Handicap win

Local sprinting star Yellow Brick went down fighting in last year’s Weetwood Handicap, but Maddy Sears is hoping the horse, with an amazing party trick, can go one better this time around.

Yellow Brick (inside) places second to All That Pizzazz in the Weetwood Handicap on 2023 Audi Centre Toowoomba Weetwood race day at Clifford Park Racecourse. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Like Dorothy following that famous fictional road in the Wizard of Oz – Sears Racing and Suat Wee’s Yellow Brick journey has been full of wonder and magic.

A $20,000 yearling purchase in 2021, Yellow Brick has won than $1.5m in prizemoney, but the journey is about so much more than dollars.

Yellow Brick holds a special place in the hearts of co-owners Suat Wee, Tony, Leigh and Maddysen Sears.

“Think of a labrador but a horse version. That’s Yellow Brick,” Maddysen Sears, who co-trains the Yellow Brick with her dad Tony, said.

“He is the most placid, laid back horse, has a massive personality and will do anything for a carrot.

“I know him inside out – probably better than anyone else.

“He even has a bit of a party trick. He’s very good at grabbing zips on people’s shirts and zipping them up and down.

“He’s a very cool horse.”

All That Pizzazz stormed home in last year’s Weetwood Handicap – stealing victory from Yellow Brick at the finishing post – to hand former Toowoomba trainer Tony Gollan his first win in the feature race.

The five-year-old is the early favourite ahead of this Saturday’s Weetwood and Maddysen is backing him all the way.

Trainer Maddy Sears (centre) watches the Weetwood Handicap on 2023 Audi Centre Toowoomba Weetwood race day at Clifford Park Racecourse. Picture: Kevin Farmer

“He’s a lot more furnished, he’s racing and going a lot better,” she said.

“Last year he was still quite immature in the mind and the way that he was racing.

“And the race will be run very differently.

“He led last year that certainly won’t be happening. He is not a horse that leads so he is not going to be left vulnerable late like he was last year.

But it is racing, anything can happen, we are very confident in the horse we’re taking to the races on Saturday and he is going to be extremely competitive.”

Yellow Brick also holds a well know ‘local ace’ up his sleeve.

Attracting Queensland’s top sprinters the Weetwood is one the Sunshine State’s toughest races to win, but Toowoomba runners often shine.

Toowoomba’s Clifford Park is well known for its ‘hill’ – a slight incline on the home straight.

“It’s a 1200m race but really Weetwood is a 13-1400m race because they (the horses) have to climb the hill,” Sears said.

“You do hear a lot that Toowoomba horses have a bit of a home-field advantage – hopefully that works out for us.

“Climbing the hill gets a lot of horses unstuck and our (Toowoomba) horses work on it every single day so you need to have a rock hard, fit horse for it (Weetwood) because it’s always run at a high tempo.”