Grinzinger Heart looks to show some ticker in the Talindert
A glowing post-trial report from Craig Williams combined with his own lofty opinion of Grinzinger Heart (Toronado) has persuaded Ben Brisbourne to throw the juvenile filly in at the deep end in Saturday’s Talindert Stakes (Listed, 1100m) at Flemington where the English ex-pat trainer hopes to make his black type breakthrough.
The Wangaratta-based horseman, who branched out on his own in 2018 after cutting his training teeth at Lindsay Park, has previously come close to sampling stakes success with five minor placings to his name, but victory has so far eluded him on the big stage.
However, with Victoria’s autumn carnival being officially unveiled at Flemington, there would be no better time to crack the code and, buoyed by Williams’ effusive praise after Grinzinger Heart’s recent tune-up at Caulfield, the 36-year-old is quietly confident that his dynamic debutante may just be the horse to give his burgeoning operation lift-off.
Unfortunately for Brisbourne and Grinzinger Heart’s owner John Wheeler, who purchased Lot 69 for $110,000 at last year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast National Yearling Sale, Williams is unavailable to continue their association having recently collected a careless riding suspension.
The champion jockey will be replaced in the saddle by Mick Dee, the New Zealand native who is bidding to land another statement win with a novice juvenile having partnered the Danny O’Brien-trained colt Closer To Free (Street Boss) to a debut victory at Caulfield last week.
Earlier this year Grinzinger Heart chased home Closer To Free in a Wodonga jump–out, so it would represent quite the coincidence if that low-key event were to prove one of the form contests of the autumn by producing the winners of the Blue Diamond Prelude (C&G) (Gr 3, 1100m) and the Talindert on successive Saturdays.
“She jumped out really nicely behind Closer To Free at Wodonga, so we’re certainly hoping that form holds up on Saturday,” Brisbourne told ANZ News shortly before saddling up Iced Poppy (Frosted) to victory at Kyneton on Tuesday.
“Adrian Corboy [who sold Closer To Free to O’Brien] broke our filly in and he said she had shown plenty of promise right from the start. She’s certainly done nothing wrong since joining us, she’s very straightforward to train and after her most recent trial at Caulfield, Craig [Williams] gave her a glowing report.
“Going on her work at home and her trials, we think she’s ready to make a good start to her career on Saturday so hopefully she can put her hand up like Closer To Free did last week. She hasn’t seen the straight at Flemington before so she’ll have to go there and handle that, but the same probably applies to most horses in the race.
“Nothing seems to faze her and she’s not just your typical jump-and-run two-year-old, she’s got a bit more scope and versatility than that so hopefully her class can shine through in the last 200 metres.”
On the subject of class, the $175,000 Talindert was won (jointly) last year by Tentyris (Street Boss), the crack colt who bids to claim his second Group 1 success in the Black Caviar Lightning (1000m) on the same Flemington program.
His dramatic dead-heat with Shining Smile (Spirit Of Boom) extended the winning streak of colts and geldings in the Talindert Stakes over the past decade, with only 2022 victor I’mlovin’ya (Capitalist) – who subsequently joined Widden Stud’s elite broodmare band – able to break the male domination in that period.
Moreover, the training talent on the recent Talindert honour roll reads like a who’s who of Australian racing, with household names such as Hayes, Freedman, Cummings (twice), Moody and Hawkes (twice) having been all etched onto the trophy.
Both Grinzinger Heart, whose half-brother Banjora (I Am Invincible) has won two from two for Warwick Farm-based trainer Bryce Heys, and her relatively unheralded trainer will therefore need to defy the weight of history at Flemington on Saturday.
Regardless of whether or not she can make a dream start to her career, however, Brisbourne believes her professionalism should stand the Lustre Lodge-bred filly in very good stead.
“She’s still learning like all two-year-olds, but she certainly hasn’t made many mistakes so far,” said Brisbourne, whose father Mark was a successful trainer in his native England.
“She’s a big, scopey type of filly who looks like she will get over further ground in time, that was Craig’s opinion and her pedigree would also suggest that. Even though she’s forward enough to run very well on Saturday, we think she’s a filly for the future so we won’t be asking too much of her this prep.
“We don’t have a firm plan in mind for her, so we’ll just let her tell us how far she’s able to go because I don’t think we’ll see the best of her until she turns three and older.”
For a reasonably small trainer with only a comparatively moderately buying budget at his disposal, Brisbourne has certainly punched above his weight in the Talindert with both his previous runners having finished in the minor money. Hell Queen (Hellbent) ran second to Grahame Begg’s Maharba (Pride Of Dubai) in the 2023 Talindert, and one year later Reasonable Point (Blue Point) finished in the same position.
Since then Suparazi (Super One) has assumed the mantle of the stable’s flagbearer, running second to subsequent Group 1 winner Jimmysstar in the Weekend Hustler Stakes (Listed, 1400m) during the 2024 Spring Racing Carnival before just failing to foil Gringotts, Jimmysstar’s Ciaron Maher-trained stablemate and a fellow son of Per Incanto (Street Cry), in both the $3 million Big Dance (1600m) and $1 million The Gong (1600m).
Alas, despite saluting the judge on seven occasions and amassing more than $1.1 million in prize-money in the process, Suparazi has been unable to land a stakes win so the task of bringing up this major milestone for the stable may fall to a filly five years his junior.
Like any sport, the line between success and failure in racing can be razor thin and its rich tapestry is littered with the tales of nearly men and women for whom glory remained tantalisingly out of reach, but Brisbourne – whose affable nature hides a steely conviction – is determined to ensure that he does not join them.
“It would be massive for the stable to get our first stakes winner,” said Brisbourne, who is hoping to claim a Grinzinger double for Wheeler on Saturday with stablemate Grinzinger Pod (Calyx) set to run at Morphettville.
“We’ve come close to a stakes win on a fair few occasions in the past, so hopefully our time can come very soon. It’s almost impossible to line up the form in the Talindert but I’d like to think Grinzinger Heart can measure up on Saturday, provided she can build on her potential. Having said that, they’re all champions before they hit the racetrack and the winning post is the most accurate assessment of a horse’s ability, but she’s certainly one of the better young horses we’ve had in the stable.
“We don’t have the resources to compete at the sales with some of the bigger stables, which is why I wasn’t at the Inglis Classic Sale this week. So that makes it harder but it’s great when you have owners like John [Wheeler] who can introduce two of three young horses into our system. I also really like a filly called Love Me Tomorrow who will make her debut at Kilmore on Friday, she’s jumped out very nicely so hopefully she can get the weekend off to a good start.”