'Team Sears' warn Yellow Brick not fully wound up for Weetwood

By Glenn Davis

The father and daughter training partnership of Tony and Maddysen Sears is hopeful of claiming another Toowoomba feature with gun sprinter Yellow Brick in the Listed Weetwood Handicap on Saturday.

However, they warn Yellow Brick won‘t be at his top for his spring comeback ahead of his main mission in the $10 million Golden Eagle in Sydney in November.

Tony Sears won the Weetwood Handicap with Choice Bro in 2016.

He has since been joined in a training partnership by his daughter and they claimed the first King Of The Mountain at Toowoomba. 

“He hasn’t grown that much since the winter but he’s filled out a lot,” Maddysen said. 

“He had four weeks out in the paddock after his last run in the Gunsynd Classic and he’s pretty solid for his return.

“He'll be hard to beat but there’s still some fitness to come from him after the Weetwood.”

Yellow Brick failed to qualify for the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap when he ran second to Sydneysider Hawaii Five Oh in the Group 3 Fred Best at Eagle Farm in late May.

He subsequently raced on Stradbroke day in the Group 3 Gunsynd Classic over 1600 metres where he got too far back before storming home to be edged out by the Chris Waller-trained Rediener.

“There was a level of disappointment not to make the Stradbroke field but there’s always next year,” Maddysen said.

Jockey James Orman has been handed the riding duties for Yellow Brick’s return with regular jockey Ben Thompson taking the mount on the Tony Gollan-trained All That Pizzazz.

“Jimmy is riding him in the Weetwood but no rider has been booked for the Golden Eagle,” Maddysen said.

'Team Sears' will give Yellow Brick a week off following the Weetwood before heading to Sydney for the Golden Eagle.

“After the Golden Eagle he’ll come home for a break and get ready for the King Of The Mountain and then the Magic Millions carnival,” Maddysen said.

“There’s a couple of races which he could run in on Magic Millions day but nothing has been set in concrete.”

After winning the King Of The Mountain at Toowoomba, Yellow Brick was narrowly beaten by Fashion Legend in the Magic Millions Guineas at the Gold Coast in January.

He then kicked off his winter campaign with a first-up win in the Group 3 Gold Coast Guineas on May 6.

Maddysen expects Yellow Brick will travel just off the pace after drawing barrier 11 for the Weetwood and has named the Gollan-trained Situation Room as the main threat.

Situation Room has drawn inside Yellow Brick in gate 10 and is coming off a last start win over the David Vandyke-trained Orbisyn at Doomben two weeks ago.