Brisbourne celebrates special Flemington success with Fontein Jewel
Trainer Ben Brisbourne experienced a particularly rewarding moment when Fontein Jewel secured victory in the initial race at Flemington on Saturday, adding a special layer to the two-year-old's win.
This triumph in the $150,000 TAB We're On Handicap (1420m) was the first for the Lucky Vega colt at the iconic track for the young English conditioner since he established his on-course stables at Flemington in early May.
While Brisbourne still operates his Wangaratta training base, from where Fontein Jewel was officially registered for Saturday's race, he viewed the win as a collective team effort.
"It the third Flemington winner for us, but the first one at Flemington since we've been had a base down here," Brisbourne commented. "So that's a big tick and hopefully it gets us noticed a little bit more, especially with these young younger horses. "It just proves that what we've put in place so far is working and we look forward to plenty more successful, hopefully."
Fontein Jewel, a $7 chance at the start, demonstrated considerable grit to clinch the win by three-quarters of a length from Insolence, who was priced at $6.50. The fast-finishing Spirit Of Macedon ($5) secured third place.
This victory represents Fontein Jewel's second from a total of five starts. Prior to his Flemington success, the colt had finished runner-up in the Elvstroem Classic (1300m).
The win occurred more than five years after Fontein Jewel's dam, Fontein Diamond, triumphed in the $250,000 Country Mile Final at Moonee Valley on All-Star Mile Day. Brisbourne conveyed his pleasure at winning significant races with the offspring of his first major winning mare.
"It's really nice, because he's the first foal out of Fontein Diamond, who was my first big winner as a trainer," Brisbourne shared. "She would have put some toughness into him and then the stallion's just put a little bit of a class. "It's absolutely brilliant for Chris (Morey) and Terry (Hurford), who bred him and support me every year with taking shares and horses, to get a big reward here."
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