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Sea Strike Makes Winning Debut for Brisbourne at Benalla

It was a dream start for European import Sea Strike, who stormed to victory in his first outing for trainer Ben Brisbourne at Benalla on Sunday. The towering 17hh son of Sea The Stars was transferred to Brisbourne’s Wangaratta stable following his previous preparation under the O’Shea/Charlton banner, with connections seeking better staying race options outside of New South Wales. Brisbourne had the four-year-old gelding primed for his fresh run, sharpening him up with a trio of 1200m jumpouts and trials to ensure he had plenty of sprint in his step for the $50,000 mile maiden. Jumping cleanly from barrier 4, Sea Strike settled further back than expected, hugging the fence at the rear half of the field. But under a cool and collected ride from Lachlan King, the gelding sliced through the pack, taking inside runs before unleashing a powerful late burst to run down race favourite Silent Call, scoring by 0.3 lengths at the post. "He wasn't fully screwed down today, so we should be in for a good preparation ahead," said a delighted Brisbourne post-race. The victory was particularly sweet, marking the first runner and winner for Champion under Brisbourne’s care—a result that thrilled both the trainer and new connections. A Tattersalls yearling purchase from Newmarket, Sea Strike has now raced four times, missing the placings just once, and looks poised for bigger things this preparation.Congratulations to his great group of owners Mperezive Racing, Mr R K Sweeney, Mrs T R Sweeney, Mr G C Green, Mr D C Harrop, Mr D H Long, Castagna, Mr P J Dunn, Mr G Seto, Jabradtral, Mr C D Hands, Sedgewyn, Mr T S Fisher, Mr J G Codner, Dream Team, Dr M Healy, 2023 1in5 Club, Mr S Nagaratnam