2 hours ago
1
Craig Kerry
April 16, 2026 — 5:00pm
Victorian trainer Ben Brisbourne will have “both options covered” when he tries to score a first group 1 win with contrasting fillies in the Champagne Stakes (1600m) at Randwick on Saturday.
Brisbourne will bring VRC Sires’ winner Grinzinger Heart from his base in Wangaratta and attempt to back-up Fernhill Mile runner-up Salann in the mile test for two-year-olds.
Salann came from the rear of the field to finish a length off Diameter last Saturday in the listed Fernhill at Randwick and Brisbourne was keen to try her again at the trip in the group 1.
A $10,000 buy for Affinity Thoroughbred Racing, the Shamus Award filly was also second on debut the start previous in the group 3 Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes (1200m) at Flemington.
Brisbourne said Salann had shown enough in the Fernhill to earn a shot at the Champagne and had recovered well.
“That’s what we were really hoping for, and she was 1200 up to the mile,” Brisbourne said of the Fernill finish.
“I thought she maybe peaked 25-50m from the line, so there’s still a bit of improvement there. A mile third-up again should be spot on, you’d think.
“I had the Thoroughbred Breeders as her first-up target, then she finished so strong that day that you would think the natural progression would be up to 1400 next time, but there wasn’t really a suitable race and the way she recovered, I thought I’d try her at the mile. If she finishes the Fernhill off strongly, there’s a group 1 the following week.”
Jason Collett has the ride from gate one on Salann, which was $16 on Thursday and had surprised Brisbourne this preparation.
“She actually showed a fair bit of speed pre-Christmas, but we just elected not to start her and just give her a break before kicking her off at the races,” he said.
“This time around she’s just taken things a little bit more in her stride and settled back further in trials and jump-outs than we expected, but always been strong late. If you’d asked me before Christmas, I would have said she’s a jump-and-run sprinter, but she stayed a strong mile the other day.”
Grinzinger Heart, a $110,000 Toronado filly for John Wheeler, gave Brisbourne his biggest win when he won the group 2 VRC Sires on March 7 in a gritty front-running effort just ahead of Zambales. Jockey Craig Williams recommended a run at the Champagne and travels up for the ride on the $15 chance, which has gate seven.
“After the Vic Sires’, I had a chat with Craig and the ownership group and we thought we’d target this race, be the fresh horse on the scene,” he said.
“She hasn’t seen the paddock, but she’s had an easy couple of weeks, then a jump-out and a trial. Her last piece of work on Tuesday morning was very good.
“I think she will stay a really strong mile, she’s got a nice racing style where she can put herself on speed and take luck out of the equation, then she’s got a good constitution when the going gets tough late. Craig was pretty keen to aim at this race and she hasn’t missed a beat.
“Maybe she can be a little bit closer in the run this time, but just settle where she’s happy.
“One horse likes to be forward and one likes to take a sit, so we’ve got both options covered and they won’t get in each other’s way.”
Having two runners in a group 1 is an exciting moment for Brisbourne, an Englishman who has been in Australia since 2013. After serving as a foreman at Lindsay Park, Brisbourne has been a trainer in his own right since 2018 and had his only group 1 runner last year when now-retired Suparazi finished fifth in the Newmarket. Suparazi also finished third in the $3 million Big Dance at Randwick and second in the $1 million Gong at Kembla in 2024.
“It’s always nice to have good young horses in the stable,” he said.
“I’ve only ever had one group 1 runner before, so to have two in the same race will be a different to a normal Saturday, but very much looking forward to it.”
