Ben Brisbourne’s website announces him as a Group 2-winning trainer out of Wangaratta, a number he wants to change on Saturday.
The 36-year-old Englishman, whose world tour only got as far as Victoria, will look for his first Group 1 when VRC Sires winner Grinzinger Heart and Fernhill Handicap runner-up Salann line up in the Champagne Stakes at Randwick on Saturday.
Remarkably, they are the only two-year-old runners Brisbourne has presented at the races this season, both having garnered black type, with the promise of more to come.
Grinzinger Heart saw off Zambales in the Sires six weeks ago and arrives in Sydney to complete Brisbourne’s plan.
“It was what I had planned before the Sires’ win, I thought if she could be competitive there, we would wait and miss the big guns in Sydney and target this race because she was always going to get over ground,” Brisbourne said.
“She is going to have fresh legs, and we have kept her up to the mark with trials and jump-outs to have her ready for the mile.”
Grinzinger Heart went to Echuca and won a trial before leading and going to the line with handy country galloper Bianco Vilano in a 1200m Wagga trial, where they spaced rivals.
Meanwhile, Salann has started her career by being runner-up to Satono Glow in the Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes at Group 3 level at the end of March and found the line strongly behind Diameter in the Fernhill.
“We don’t get many two-year-old but to have four starts in total for a Group 2 win, and placings at Group 3 and Listed level, we are going all right,” Brisbourne said. “They are fillies that are going to be better at a trip, but they get their chance at Group 1 level here.
“If I could change anything about them, I would change their barriers because Salann needs a little more room.”
GRINZINGER HEART is SW49 for Toronado in the VRC Sires’ Produce Stakes.@BenBrisbourne @CWilliamsJockey @SwettenhamStud @mmsnippets @LustreLodge pic.twitter.com/B06ZStZJ9A
— Pedigree Update (@pedigreeupdate) March 9, 2026
Brisbourne has learned what a good horse is in England and Australia. He spent time under National Hunt master Nicky Henderson in England, where he originally wanted to a jumps jockey.
He came to Australia and found work under Mark Kavanagh when Atlantic Jewel was in his yard before moving on to Lindsay Park when it was under the guidance of David Hayes and Tom Dabernig before taking his licence out in 2017.
It is a grounding that has him emerging as one of the smartest young trainers in the country as he builds a profile around the country circuit with a good city strike rate.
“I got here and just loved the racing and never left,” Brisbourne said. “We went to be in these races, but we don’t get the right horses too often.”
There is a patience to the Grinzinger Heart’s preparation and a belief he could have her ready for the mile away from raceday. He has drawn on his Henderson experience and watched how Australia’s best keep the sharpest in their horses.
“You have to be careful that you don’t lose their zip by doing it this way, but her couple of trials have been sharp enough,” he said. “It is a different way of doing things, but it’s about having them fit and ready to go at the right time.”
Salann has stayed in Sydney after her closing effort in the Fernhill and Brisbourne is hoping for a Group 1 tempo on Saturday.
“They went steady last week, and she was still finding the line, I think, with the mile run under her belt, and the fact they might go a more genuine gallop in the Group 1 can only help her,” Brisbourne said.
“We get to a Group 1 with two good fillies that are capable of running very well.”
