Having recently achieved his first Group Two winner, Ben Brisbourne isn’t resting on his laurels and will seek further two-year-old success.
The Wangaratta based trainer will send lightly raced filly Salann to the Listed Fernhill Mile (1600m) at Randwick on Saturday, with an eye to the Group 1 Champagne Stakes (1600m) the following week.
A daughter of Shamus Award, Salann debuted in the Group 3 Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes (1200m) at Flemington, finding the line well for second behind impressive winner Satono Glow.
Having worked very well at home on Tuesday, Brisbourne was confident of going straight to a mile with Salann.
“We were just seeing how she’d gallop, but she galloped a treat so we’re just confirming all the things now,” Brisbourne said.
“She galloped over 1000 metres, quickened up the last 600 with an older horse as a bunny and got to the older horse real easy, and that wasn’t the impressive part, it was when it took the rider half a mile to pull her up.
“She got home super on debut, we knew that 1200 (metres) was going to be on the sharp side for her, we were just hoping to see her finish going forward and picked up a stakes placing on her debut, and she’s trained on well.”
Having initially thought Salann might be a speedier type of two-year-old, the more he’s seen of her, the more Brisbourne is confident she’ll get over ground sooner rather than later.
“We always thought she was a jump-and-run two-year-old and she was sort of our sharper type,” Brisbourne said.
“But the more we’ve been getting through the jump outs and the trials, the more the feedback was she’d be a lovely 1,400-metre horse and beyond.”
Having won the Group 2 VRC Sires (1400m) with Grinzinger Heart at a big price, Salann could look to one-up her stablemate if they clash in the Champagne Stakes as intended.
“I think she’s going that well, and we’ve got in the back of our minds that if she is as strong a stayer as we think she is as a two-year-old, if she ran well, she’d go into that with the view of backing up the following week in the Champagne,” Brisbourne said.
“Grinzinger Heart is great as well, she’s trialling Wednesday at Wagga and she goes to the Champagne as well.
“Last year we only had maybe one or two two-year-old runners, this year we haven’t really got the stock either but the two we’ve got to the races are stakes level already.
“I’d love a hundred yearlings to walk into the stable every year but it just doesn’t happen so we’ll try and do the best with what we’ve got.”
Salann is rated an $8 chance across all-in markets for the Fernhill Mile with Tyler Schiller booked to ride.
