Punters whet their appetite ahead of a massive day of Group One racing in Brisbane as a pair of emerging horses stamped their claims ahead of the spring.
Irish Sequel backed up his narrow last start win in the Listed Winter Cup at Rosehill with another gritty win in the Group 2 Brisbane Cup, while Kiss Sum recorded an easy win in the Group 3 Gunsynd Classic.
Both winners were given a peach of a ride from leading Sydney jockeys James McDonald and Jason Collett.
After narrowly holding off stablemate Bonny Ezra at Rosehill last week, McDonald climbed aboard Irish Sequel at Eagle Farm and proved the superior stayer, getting the better of Through Irish Eyes, at the end of two-miles.
2022 Brisbane Cup Replay
While the Brisbane Cup was a close finish, Four Pillars winner Kiss Sum stamped himself as a potential spring player when winning the Gunsynd Classic (1600m).
The Tracey Bartley-trained three-year-old made the most of the trip north with an easy win in his first attempt at the mile.
“He's a very nice horse, he's got a great turn of foot on him and he relaxes,” Bartley said,
“He was terribly unlucky his last two starts, he could have won both of them and been in the Stradbroke but, anyway he's got something for the boys and we'll have a drink tonight.”
The Golden Eagle in the spring could be a nice target race for the son of Shamus Award.
“A race like the Golden Eagle, might throw it out there because he's a serious horse,” the trainer said.
“He's got bent legs, but he doesn't know that and we look after him and I'm sure he's going to look after us.”