Upset Win for Choice Bro in Weetwood Handicap

Former New Zealand galloper Choice Bro (Choisir) rediscovered his best form and scored an upset win in the A$150,000 Listed Weetwood Handicap (1200m) at Toowoomba on Saturday.

Ridden by Jim Orman, Choice Bro came with a big late run down the outside of the track to win by a long head. It was the seventh win of Choice Bro’s 47-start career.

"Choice Bro raced in both Sydney and New Zealand where he was a Group horse," local trainer Tony Sears said. "He hasn't had much luck in his races here.”

A son of the Palace Music mare Ladidi, Choice Bro was bred by R Pietrykowski. Offered by Ainsley Downs Stud at the 2011 Select Sale, he was bought by Gary Mudgway and John Sargent for $50,000. He has earned more than 10 times that amount in prize-money.

Originally trained at Matamata by Sargent, Choice Bro was a leading two-year-old in New Zealand in the 2011-12 season. He won the Group 1 Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes and the Group 3 Platinum Homes 2YO Classic, and he finished fourth to Ockham’s Razor (NZ) (Any Suggestion) in the Listed Karaka Million.

This was Choice Bro’s first stakes win in Australia, but he had recorded five black-type placings on that side of the Tasman including last year’s Weetwood Handicap.