Sargent buoyant ahead of Doomben Cup

Sydney trainer John Sargent is full of confidence with Brandenburg ahead of the Gr.1 Doomben Cup (2000m) on Saturday.

The son of Burgundy was victorious over 1600m at the Gold Coast and Sargent said the now gelding has his mind on racing.

“I think he has taken a lot of confidence out of it (win). With his work since then I think he has gone up a level. I couldn’t be happier,” Sargent told SENTrack.

“I think his mind is on the job now. Being a colt, it wasn’t at the end of last campaign. The owners took the gamble to geld him and hopefully they will reap the rewards at Doomben.

“He runs in the Q22 after that before a short break up there (Queensland) and then Melbourne in the spring.”

Jockey Regan Bayliss will be aboard this weekend and Sargent said he was pleased after riding him in track work on Tuesday morning.

“He was very happy. We went back on the polytrack and he galloped over a mile. He couldn’t have been happier and he has a lot of confidence in the horse,” Sargent said.

“It will be great to get him up there. Regan is an ex-Queenslander and he knows the track. Everything is coming into alignment.”

Brandenburg was bred by Christopher and Susanna Grace and is a half-brother to Sargent’s former multiple Group winner Luvaluva. He races for a similar ownership group sporting the silks of Darren Thomas’ Seymour Bloodstock.