Tony and Maddysen Sears bided a few extra days, but their premier charge Yellow Brick delivered in style by claiming The Archer held at Rockhampton.
Originally slated for Sunday, the million-dollar slot event was moved after track inspections revealed heavy patches in the home straight vicinity – specifically around 200m, 150m, and 80m marks, while other areas were good.
Jockey Tommy Berry made himself available again and steered the $3.40 elect clear on the home turn, granting the Group 1 veteran abundant room through the prolonged Rockhampton straight.
The home track fancy Cherry Rose quickened sharply at 300m, but quality asserted itself, Yellow Brick finishing a length clear of $19 shot Anemacore, with Boomtown Boss at $10 a head back in third place.
In a training alliance with her father, Maddysen Sears revealed the emotional weight of the success with the family’s cornerstone horse, whose tally reached 10 wins and prizemoney exceeding $3.7 million.
“It’s just really special,” Sears said.
“My grandma’s here to watch, all my family come out to do it.
“We brought the right horse up and someone told me a couple of days before, a very good trainer in Melbourne said he’s going to win for fun and he did.
“He’s the pivotal horse for my career. Anyone that knows me, knows my family, this horse is this horse is so special.”
Berry conveyed steady belief during proceedings, thanking an elite jockey for the gig on Yellow Brick.
“They just wanted me to make sure I got room,” Berry said of the instructions.
“He’s a big horse and he takes a little bit of winding up, but it was a good effort today. Because he was first up and he was a little bit keen in the run and being on the fresh side.
“Great effort by the team to get him ready, to get him ready twice too for today. It was worth coming back for, for the second time.
“He’s definitely got a good carnival ahead. They’ve got some nice races mapped out for him. Thanks to James McDonald, he’s the one who got me up here, so I’ll try and keep it, and you can ride something else from now on, that’d be nice.”
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