Tony Brett has enjoyed considerable success in his career, winning numerous group races around the country. But the Melbourne Cup is the one race he places above all others.
“It’s the pinnacle. It’s the highest prize money race but even before that… I don’t know it’s just got a special aura,” he said after trialling three of his contenders ahead of next week’s TAB Melbourne Cup heats.
“There’s something special about racing in front of a big crowd, it’s only the real big races that get the crowd these days and the Melbourne Cup tops them all. I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t put winning the Melbourne Cup at the top of the tree.”
One of the sport’s most respected conditioners, the affable Queenslander’s only previous Melbourne Cup finalist was Glen Gallon, who ran a fast finishing second when beaten by a head by Got A Moment in 2012. That experience, while being memorable, also galvanised his determination to win the race.
“We brought a group of people and had the best night ever on a race track. It’s not all about the racing, it’s the whole night, the whole week really. I stayed down for the week and it was all people are talking about.
“The night itself was amazing. We had the red box and was a massive chance. I always watch the race live from behind the boxes and I thought we’re close but I think we’ve missed and we did. Since then, my wife Fleur said you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to win this race. It takes a lot of plans and preparations, but here we are.”
After a challenging start to 2017, Brett is now enjoying a phenomenal run of success. Since July, he’s won five group races including two at group 1 level. With four chasers being aimed for the Cup – all of which with a group race win already on their resume – Brett is giving himself every opportunity to win the world’s richest greyhound race.
“We’ve always got a handy team but it takes a special dog (to win the Cup). This year with this team we have we decided that we’ll give ourselves every possible chance.
“We usually have around 17 race dogs, but at the moment we only have 11. We cut back a little bit so I can go and stay down here for the two weeks if I need to or fly backwards and forward. A lot of thought and preparation goes into it, you cover a lot kilometers and do a lot of driving but at this time of the year it’s all about the dog – whatever they need is what I do.”
The TAB Melbourne Cup heats will be run on Friday 17 November with the winner of each heat progressing to the $600,000 final on Friday 24 November.
Tony Brett’s Cup Contenders
Fast Times
22 starts 13-2-1, $152,360
3 group finals, won group 1 Winter Cup
Trialled 29.43 on 2/11/2017
Jury
22 starts 12-4-1, $169,288
3 group finals, won group 1 National Sprint Championship and group 2 Lismore Cup
Trialled 29.38 on 2/11/2017
Opal Nera
25 starts, 11-4-3, $73,436
5 group finals, won group 3 Gold Coast Cup
Trialled 29.47 on 2/11/2017
Engaged in race 7 on 9 November 2017. Click here for your free form guide
Thirty Talks
48 starts, 29-1-4
10 group finals, won group 1 Brisbane Cup, group 2 Geelong Cup and group 3 Ipswich Cup
