The Emma-Lee and David Brown stable secured their most significant triumph when Mcgaw claimed The Showdown at Caulfield and now they aim to replicate that feat 12 months later.
McGaw captured the $1 million prize last year, which at that point stood as the Brownes’ largest success on Australian tracks until the three-year-old secured the Group 2 Danehill Stakes (1100m) at Flemington during last spring.
Lomu is set to fly the flag for the Brownes in Saturday’s running of The Showdown (1200m), differing from McGaw by making his initial appearance on the racetrack.
Prior to his Caulfield victory, McGaw had taken a maiden event at Pakenham on debut, and following a strong workout at Caulfield on Tuesday, the Brownes committed to starting Lomu this Saturday.
“It’s a little bit of a throw at it but he’s trialled up good,” Emma-Lee Browne said.
“At this time of year in two-year-old racing you come up against a horse or horses that have won, so we thought if he came through his gallop all good, it’s an idea.
“A lot of the people that were in McGaw are in this horse as well, so it would be very nice to be there again and go and give it a bit of a nudge as well.”
Similar to McGaw, Lomu is by I Am Immortal, and mirroring McGaw’s acquisition, Lomu was snapped up for a modest $10,000.
“The same reason I loved McGaw, I love this horse,” Browne said.
“He was big, he was scopey, he had big ears. He wandered around having a look at things and seemed pretty happy.
“Hopefully he can run similar.”
Browne holds high regard for I Am Immortal offspring, though their prices have risen at recent yearling sales due to McGaw’s Danehill triumph.
“Luckily our first two have been pretty good buys and I really rated the stallion, I think he’s very, very good,” Browne said.
“A lot of the horses by I Am Immortal can really gallop and have shown something.”
Winning last year’s Showdown attracted fresh owners to the stable, and Browne indicated another victory would be most welcome.
“We’ve been able to increase our numbers by a fair few,” Browne said.
“We’ve got a few more yearlings this year, so it’s an exciting time of the year to have the young ones around.”
The Brownes are also launching the autumn preparation for Basilinna in the Group 2 Peter Young Stakes (1800m) following her final jump-out at Pakenham on Tuesday.
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