Yellow Brick breaks through the $4 million barrier in style

Cover image courtesy of Trackside Photography

Yellow Brick continued to enhance his reputation as one of Queensland's most durable, classy and versatile performers with victory in Saturday's G3 WJ Healy Stakes, taking the Tony and Maddysen Sears-trained gelding beyond $4 million in career prize money.

A storming finish to claim the WJ Healy Stakes

At Eagle Farm on Saturday, Tommy Berry produced a perfectly timed, rail-hugging ride aboard the tough campaigner, the latest feature success in a remarkable career that is by no means finished but already has yielded 11 wins and nine placings from 32 starts and just over $4 million in earnings.

After the latest feature success, co-trainer Maddy Sears praised Berry's judgement after the pair discussed race tactics before the start.

"He's (Tommy Berry) just a star, and we had a good talk before the race, and Splash Back came up the fence (Tatts Tiara), and he was a little bit hesitant to sort of go up the rail, like he did, but I was like, come on boy, you can do it."

With Yellow Brick's latest success coming just before a well-earned overseas break, Sears admitted the gelding had made the timing even sweeter.

"I'm off on holiday on Thursday to Canada ,for the Calgary Stampede and a bit of road tripping, and then Ibiza for a little bit, so he's played a big part in making that trip even better."

She was also quick to acknowledge the people behind the stable's success.

"I wouldn't be able to do it without the team behind me. My mum, my dad, all their staff."

The story behind finding Yellow Brick

Tony Sears Racing and Paul Moroney Bloodstock secured Yellow Brick for just $20,000 from Waylon J Stud's draft at the 2021 Magic Millions National Yearling Sale.

The gelding is from the first crop of The Mission, the G1 Champagne Stakes-winning 2-year-old, and Sears said there were encouraging signs from the beginning.

"Paul Moroney picked him out for dad, and he has always been a big, beautiful horse. Physically, he's a big, strong horse, he races at about 550 kg.

"From the word go, he's always shown something, we've just taken our time with him, been patient with him, and he's very lightly raced for his age."

Yellow Brick is one of three stakes winners produced by Magical Mist (NZ) (High Chaparral {Ire}), joining fellow Group 3 winners Ballistic Boy (Smart Missile) and Splendiferous (Pride Of Dubai).

A four-time winner herself, Magical Mist has an unnamed 2-year-old colt by Maurice (Jpn), a yearling filly by Alabama Express, and is in foal again to Alabama Express.

Magical Mist is also a half-sister to G1 Levin Classic winner Distill (NZ) (Volksraad {GB}) and dual Listed winner and G1 Sydney Cup placegetter Mr Tipsy (NZ) (Montjeu {Ire}).

Toughness, durability and versatility

Yellow Brick has built a reputation as one of Queensland racing's toughest performers. Successful over 1100 metres at Ipswich as a 2-year-old, he is now still winning Group races as a 6-year-old.

Although his best performances have come on top of the ground, he has also won on his less favoured heavy track.

Sears believes his temperament is one of his greatest assets.

"He's just been brilliant, he's been unbelievable. He's just such an easy horse to train, too, he just makes everything enjoyable."

She also highlighted his versatility, having performed across a wide range of distances.

"He's very tractable as well. We stretched him out in distance and he ran third in the Five Diamonds over 1800 metres, and then he just went and won another Group 3 over 1200 metres. Whatever we ask him, he pretty much steps up."

"He really is tractable, he has wet track form, but he's nowhere near the same horse. He's just not the same on a wet track.," Sears said.

Persistent wet weather throughout the 2026 Queensland Winter Carnival created plenty of headaches for the stable, particularly leading into the Stradbroke Handicap.

"At times with the rain it has been an absolute nightmare, we actually nearly considered scratching him from the Stradbroke when the track came up, as heavy as it did. But it was a big carrot that was dangled and he had to run somewhere and he was up and ready to go."

Despite the testing conditions, Sears joked that her stable star always seems to rise to the occasion.

"He loves the big prize money races, he knows when it counts which is a great thing and he has built a fantastic record."

His impressive record includes victories in the G3 WJ Healy Stakes, G3 Gold Coast Guineas, Listed Members Cup and Listed Spear Chief Handicap, while he has also captured some of Queensland's richest non-black-type races, including the $1 million The Archer, the $750,000 King Of The Mountain at Toowoomba and the $1.5 million Magic Millions QTIS on the Gold Coast.

The gelding has also proven himself at the highest level, placing in the G1 Stradbroke Handicap.

A family horse through and through

Yellow Brick's success has been especially rewarding given the close family ties behind his ownership and training.

Prepared by father-and-daughter team Tony and Maddy Sears, the gelding is part-owned by Maddy and her mother Leigh, alongside long-time stable supporter Melvin Foo, who races him in the name of his wife, Suat See.

For Sears, the relationship she has built with Yellow Brick extends well beyond raceday.

"It's been really special for the family, I have a very strong affiliation with this horse, he's very, very special to me and he's probably one of the only horses that Dad kind of leaves me to my own devices to train a bit, we really have a strong link."

Moments such as Saturday's feature victory make the years of dedication worthwhile.

"So to win a big race like that, it honestly just makes it all feel all worth it, all those early mornings, heartbreak and hard work."

The family resisted lucrative offers from Hong Kong earlier in his career, convinced the gelding still had plenty to achieve in Australia.

"Early on in his career, we got some big offers from Hong Kong but we solely kept a hold of him because we kind of knew the ability that he had. I've been very lucky to have a horse like him early in my training career."

And when his racing days are over, Sears already knows where 'Brickys future lies.

"He will live at our place forever, he means a lot to us."

Stable building nicely

Maddy Sears officially joined her father Tony in partnership in 2019, with the veteran horseman having trained since 1992.

Yellow Brick provided the partnership with its first Group winner and the stable has continued to grow, adding a Gold Coast base to its long-established Toowoomba operation in 2024.

Another horse the stable is excited about is talented 3-year-old filly Nightline (NZ) (Redwood {GB}), who produced a dominant victory in the Listed Gold Coast Bracelet to make it four wins from eight starts and looked a leading G1 Queensland Oaks contender before injury interrupted her campaign.

Sears said the signs during her rehabilitation have been encouraging.

"She's doing brilliantly. Her rehab is going very much to plan, she is at Embrook Stables and they're taking absolute top care of her. I actually just seen a photo of her the other day and she looks phenomenal. She's going to come back bigger and better, she is very talented and we have no way seen the best of her yet."

While looking forward to a holiday, Sears said she is equally excited about what lies ahead for the stable.

"She is very exciting, the whole stable is going well, I'm loving what I am doing, I'm looking forward to my holiday, but we have a lot to look forward to in regards to horses in our stable."