Before heading to Singapore in 2007, Cliff Brown had a more than handy record with stayers.
He won the South Australian Derby on three occasions, an Adelaide Cup with The A Train while in Singapore he trained the winners of two of their most prestigious longer distance races, the Singapore Derby and Singapore Gold Cup.
Brown returned to Australia in 2021 and will on Saturday saddle Yaphet in the Group 2 Brisbane Cup (3200m) at Eagle Farm.
To close out his three-year-old season, Yaphet finished second to Beautyverse (then known as Jungle Magnate) in the Group 1 South Australian Derby (2500m) at Morphettville in May last year.
That placing would normally give connections hope for the staying race the following spring, but unfortunately Yaphet did not come up as expected.
Following a long break, Yaphet made his return at Sandown in February and on Saturday will be having the eighth start of his current preparation.
It’s an old-fashioned staying preparation that Brown is accustomed to, getting the miles into the legs to see out the 3200m journey.
Brown said Yaphet was a tricky horse.
“He missed a lot of racing and he’s pretty fat,” Brown said.
“He takes a lot of racing to get fit. He hasn’t been able to flow, but he’s flowing now, and I reckon he was excellent the other day.”
Ridden for luck from back in the field, Yaphet was a closing fifth in the Group 3 Premier’s Cup (2400m) at Eagle Farm on May 27.
Brown conceded Saturday’s Brisbane Cup was not as strong as those from a bygone era.
“You still have to be good enough and win it and all those things, but he seems in a really good spot,” Brown said.
Stablemate The Inferno is down to contest the Listed Hinkler Handicap (1200m) but has drawn horribly in gate 19 after missing out on a start in the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap (1400m).