My Brothers Keeper up for the Challenge at Flemington

Trainer Stephen Brown does not see a rise in distance as being a concern for My Brothers Keeper when he steps out at Flemington.

My Brothers Keeper will run for the first time at 2500m in the Mahogany Challenge Final on Saturday.

Brown said My Brothers Keeper was ready for the trip after three runs at 2000m in which he has finished fourth once and third in his past two appearances, each time at Flemington.

The trainer, who is based at Seymour, said My Brothers Keeper was still a big baby and Saturday’s race was all a part of learning for the future.

“I think he’s looking for the 2500 metres, but the penny still hasn’t dropped with him yet,” Brown said.

He’s still a big baby. He’s still got a way to go, mentally and maturity wise, but I think he’ll run the trip.”

Due to unforeseen circumstances, My Brothers Keeper’s last three starts have been at Flemington.

Brown had picked out a 2400m race at Sandown for the gelding, but he elected to keep him at Flemington to pick up another third-place finish.

“I was going to run him in a 2400-metre race at Sandown, but things just didn’t go right with his gallops because of the Seymour track, so we decided to go back to Flemington,” Brown said.

“We were that half run behind, but he seems all good now.”

Brown said Saturday’s race was likely to be My Brothers Keeper, a son of Melbourne Cup winner Fiorente, last start before a break.

But the trainer has not ruled out My Brothers Keeper being around during the spring.

In 2020, Persan won the corresponding race before going on to run fifth behind Twilight Payment in the Melbourne Cup later in the spring.

“We’ll probably run him in the spring, but we’ll just see where he’s at after Saturday,” Brown said.