CHOICE BRO A WEETWOOD SUCCESS STORY

By Graham Potter | Monday, April 18, 2016

AUDI CENTRE WEETWOOD HANDICAP – Quality, Listed – 1200m.
TOOWOOMBA – APRIL 16:

WINNER: CHOICE BRO (6 ch g Choisir – Ladidi)

Owners: Mr A D Black and Mrs E A Black
Trainer; Tony Sears. Jockey: Jimmy Orman.
Track: Good 3. Rail: True.
Second: Coolring. Third: Pillar Of Creation.
Time: 1-11.43. Won by 0.20 lengths.
Starting price: $15.

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Talk about an inch prefect ride.

Jockey Jimmy Orman did many things right in guiding Choice Bro ($15) to a last gasp victory in the Weetwood Handicap ... not least being the fact that he tapped into trainer Tony Sears’ confidence and followed the trainer’s instructions to the hilt as a pre-race plan unfolded to perfection.

Dropped out because of the gelding’s lack of early speed, Orman took Choice Bro wide in the sweep to the turn allowing his mount a clear sight of the goal-post on straightening.

The much needed, well planned, uninterrupted run to the line beckoned but, with Sears having prepared him for this moment and with Orman having put him into the right spot, this was now the time for Choice Bro to play his part.

To have any chance from where he was Choice Bro would have to not only quicken on cue but the acceleration being called for would have to be of the highest order.

There was a lot of work to do but Choice Bro wasn’t about to let anybody down. He quickly gathered in field, runner after runner, and with 150m left to run he stuck resolutely to a task when it looked for a moment that the post might come a stride or two too soon for his liking.

Choice Bro was not going to be denied though and his now considerable momentum carried him to the front in the only place that mattered.

The well fancied Bjorn Baker trained Coolring ($2.63 favourite and one of only three runners quoted in single figures), who had looked all over the winner close to the line, had to settle for second placing with another of the Sears trained runners, Pillar Of Creation ($10), snaring third place.

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Ten months ago, on June 20, 2015, Choice Bro was one of three horses who fell during the running of the Rockhampton Cup.

The steward’s report of that race noted, ‘Near the 900 metres Power Ranger (App. S. Fawke) dislodged its rider and fell. Subsequently Vandalised (Jockey B. Stewart) was unable to avoid the fallen horse and rider and also fell. In the incident Jockey Coome, the rider of Choice Bro, was also dislodged from his mount. A veterinary examination found Choice Bro had blood in its mouth, a number of lacerations and swelling of its chest.’

That setback came just five runs with the Sears stable (Choice Bro was previously trained by John Sargent). A month later Choice Bro was back in action ... and winning, taking out an Open 1200m contest at Doomben.

That Doomben victory was Choice Bro’s only win for Sears until the Weetwood, although the fact that he finished in the first four in six of the nine starts between successes shows that he has never really been that far off the action.

Choice Bro is now a seven-time winner from forty-seven starts and he will go into the record books as the horse that gave Tony Sears and Jimmy Orman their first Weetwood winner.

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TRAINER TONY SEARS:

“I had three runners going into the race and Choice Bro and Pillar Of Creation were the pick of them. I know it is easy to say after the race but I thought Choice Bro had a massive chance. I actually bought him in the Calcutta ... that’s how confident I was.

“They all ran well. My Melbourne horse (Hard Stride) ... I most probably should have let him lead with hindsight, but I elected to drag him in behind and we know now that’s not to way to ride him. The other two went terrific.

“Choice Bro’s wide barrier draw never worried me one bit. I said to my wife Leigh ... I was at the races and she and my daughter went and did the barrier draw for me ... I said, ‘if anything draws bad out of my runners I hope it is Choice Bro’. He’s got no early speed anyway so it made no difference to him.

“A lot of people thought Choice Bro’s run two weeks ago (when he finished 4.70 lengths behind Casual Choice over 1110m at Doomben) wasn’t quite up to scratch, but his run was real good.

That day in Brisbane they pushed him forward a little bit but this time I said to Jimmy (Orman), ‘just sit him out the back ... just sit there, let him do his own thing and don’t worry about what start you are giving them. When he is ready to go he’ll go. Do not push him early because that was why he didn’t quite finish off the start before.

“He’s the one I was confident about if everything went right ... although you can’t call anything for certain in a Weetwood.

“Watching the race I sort of flicked through them. I could see Choice Bro out the back. I was watching Pillar Of Creation a little bit because I could see how easy he was going but he just couldn’t get a run on them ... and then I saw Jimmy coming down the outside.

“Jimmy gave the horse a beautiful ride. He’s a good kid. He is going places he is!

“To win a Weetwood is special. I’ve won a lot of races worth a lot more money but I’ve never got the same thrill as I got out of winning that. That was something else.

“Everyone wants to win a Weetwood, especially when you live in Toowoomba. It’s a funny feeling. It’s just one of those races that gets to you. It’s a hard race to win and it is just a wonderful feeling when you do.

“Unfortunately the owners weren’t at the track because they had a big wedding on but I know they are just as thrilled.”

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LEIGH SEARS (WIFE OF TRAINER TONY SEARS):

“Maddysen, my daughter, picked the barrier for Choice Bro at the draw on Wednesday and she was worried when she picked such a wide position, but I said to her don’t worry about it ... you might just have done the horse a favour.

“Choice Bro would have had to come back anyway so, being out wide he was not going to get caught in traffic which was a good thing because, since he fell in the Rocky Cup last year he is just a bit hesitant to go in amongst them.

“He had quite a heavy fall at Rocky. He didn’t get seriously hurt physically, but it did affect him mentally a bit with him being a bit reluctant now to go inbetween runners. He just loves coming down the outside.

“That was the plan ... just to let him run his own race. Even so, the horse had so much to do in the straight. Imagine the time he has run the last 600m. Watching the race I didn’t even pick him up until the last 100m. He just flew.

“You have to go into these races with some expectation of success. You have got to be optimistic.

“We had three horses in the race and we thought we had three horses with a chance. But you also don’t want to be overconfident. When you are overconfident ... that’s when you get kicked in the butt.

“Let’s just say it was a hectic week leading up to the race and to round it off by winning the Weetwood, after finishing second and third last year, with Pillar Of Creation and Choice Bro respectively, was just fantastic.”

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JOCKEY JIMMY ORMAN:

“I always knew the barrier wouldn’t worry him because he is a horse that doesn’t show any early speed. Whether he drew one or the extreme outside he was always going to be last early on.

“I ended up following Jumbo Prince. I then popped off his back. My horse is a horse that needs room. I just tracked up a bit and then seemingly did it the hard way going right around them ... but that is the way he likes to race.

“It was never an option to ride him for luck. He doesn’t like racing in amongst horses and I don’t think I would have got through there anyway.

“He responded well. I just gave him a few hits and he was really accelerating. He wanted to lay in a bit so I had to change my whip over to the right. Once I changed over, that’s what won the race. He really went to the line hard.

“I did think I had got up to win, but I wasn’t going to celebrate early that’s for sure.

“I thought I had a reasonable chance going into the race. I did think Coolring (who finished second) might be pretty hard to beat but I also knew how confident Tony (Sears) was. He bought Choice Bro at the Calcutta so he was real confident. He’s a good judge and he made me quietly confident.

“Tony had three in the race and he put me on the right one.

“It’s really good to win Weetwood. It’s a career highlight.”

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STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:

Jumbo Prince – Had difficulty securing clear running over the final 150m. Le Val – Checked when tightened for room near the 100m. K. Yoshida, rider of G’day Old Mate, was reprimanded for allowing his mount to shift out when not fully clear. Raced wide without cover. Mr Favulous – Raced wide without cover. Rock Royalty – Steadied when placed in restricted room near the 100m. Raced four wide with cover. Double Impact – Held up in the early stages of the home straight. Adorabubble – Jockey R. McMahon was fined $200 for using his whip more than 5 times prior to the 100m and in consecutive strides.

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