Brett has Sentenced in illustrious company

By Isaac Murphy

Group 2 Queensland Derby winner Sentenced was gifted a couple of weeks off by trainer Tony Brett after his feature triumph, but the rising star of Queensland racing was back at it last Saturday night at Ipswich.

The young gun scorched the clock in 30.05 seconds, just eight hundredths off the track record and will line up a likely favourite for this Saturday’s Corporate Dollars heats at the same venue.

The progeny of Brett’s Group 1 champion Jury is doing his father proud, breaking the clock at both Albion and now Ipswich, with the trainer now admitting the lid has been ripped off.

“I was told it was the sixth fastest time, by the fifth fastest dog; I thought he’d go pretty quick after a freshen up after the Derby, but I couldn’t believe it when they let me know the time,” Brett said.

“Fantastic to see that he’s carried that confidence and form through the Derby and is still as hungry as ever.

“I knew he was good before the heats of the Derby, but with his lack of experience and a bit of trouble at box rise you try not to get too excited, but a 29.63 run, a Derby win and a 30.05 gallop at Ipswich - it’s fair to say I’m pretty excited.”

Brett was not afraid to compare him to another Brisbane Cup winner, with the result adding to Brett’s Ipswich success.

“He reminds me of Fast Times a bit, he won the Maiden at Lismore then went to a Novice at Albion, then went 30.07 first look at Ipswich - he’s in some pretty illustrious company,” Brett said.

“I’ve been pretty fortunate when it comes to record runs at Ipswich, I’ve never had the quickest, but I think I’ve got four of the seven now with Thirty Talks, Queen Lauryn, Sentenced and Fast Times.

“I guess the scary thing with him is he’s done it so early on, I really think he’s still got some maturing to do, so hopefully we can grab top spot one day.”

The dog’s winning streak has come in stunning fashion with him finishing off over the top of Queensland’s best dogs, but his latest run showed he can do it in front too.

“Probably the most pleasing part of last Saturday’s run was to see him get out and lead; he’d shown speed as a pup but in all of his races that’s what he’d lacked and to see him still chase as hard as ever once he found the top was another box ticked,” Brett said.

“You can get away with that against maidens, novices or in a Fifth Grade, but the class we want him racing in he’s got to become more consistent at the jump.

“He’s just showing me something new every run, it’s like another penny drops every time; he’s just thriving on it and starting to do things a good dog should, there’s a difference between a fast dog and a good dog.”

Brett said after a conference with his owners, the Fifth Grade Corporate Dollars looked the way to go with an eye to the Group 1 Gold Bullion.

“We had the option to push on with him at Albion or even go to Victoria, but we thought timing wise if he could come through the Corporate Dollars series in Fifth Grade, he could hit the big races with some real swagger,” he said.

“There’s some nice prize money if he goes on and wins it - I’m not counting my pennies - but on ability he looks like he should go out and take care of business.”

Brett is bursting to get Sentenced a start in the Golden Ticket, and a win in the Group 3 match race series could see him straight through to the Gold Bullion Final.

“We’d love for him to be a part of the Golden Ticket, the match race format would suit him down to the ground, I’m just not sure if he’ll get a start though being a Fifth-Grade dog,” he said.

“On times he’s certainly in the best sixteen and would love to see him in a one-on-one dual, if he’s running 29.63 with traffic, he should go even quicker without it.

“It’s going to be a red-hot series; you’ve got young dogs like Cash View and Cash Stack for Rob Cooke who are in the same boat as us and then a bitch like Sequana who went 29.48 in this race last year.”