Barrassie Brother lands the cash first-up

A STRONG betting move for Brisbane three-year-old Barrassie Brother paid off when the grey scored first-up at the Gold Coast this afternoon.
The Kelly Schweida-trained Barrassie Brother opened at $4 but was backed in to run the $2.60 favourite in the Jim Hook C,G&E Maiden Plate (1200m).
Ridden by Dan Griffin, Barrassie Brother sat off the other well-backed runner Barryan ($3.10 into $2.70) but raced away in the straight to post a 4-3/4 length win from Dwan ($41).  Only The Strong ($17) was a short-head away third.
The race was marred by a fall on the home turn when Carlson’s Gold came down but apprentice Tegan Harrison appears to have escaped serious injury.
Barrassie Brother is by the ill-fated sire Top Marc out of the Desert Sun mare Move It Or Lost It.
Barrassie Brother is raced in similar interests to Top Marc, a former good racetrack performer who died at stud in late 2010.
Also trained by Schweida, Top Marc won 12 races, including the 2005 Glasshouse Hcp at the Sunshine Coast.
 “Sadly Top Marc died of a heart attack after just a couple of seasons at stud,’’ said part-owner Jeff McLean.
“We gave Barrassie Brother one run in August but he went shinsore. He’s come out and won very well first-up today so we’re very encouraged by what he’s showing so far.’’
Story: Neil Archer
Photo: Trackside Photography Pty Ltd