FADE To Black continued his outstanding 2026 campaign while kennelmate Gramercy Garry made an emphatic introduction to Q2 Parklands as trainer Tony Brett celebrated a race-to-race double on Thursday night.
Sent out as the $1.45 favourite over the 520m, Fade To Black made his first appearance over the distance at Q2 a winning one, while the Fernando Bale x Zipping Kelly chaser made it three victories on the bounce.
“It was a little bit risky, the $1.45 over the 520,” Brett said.
“With the short run to the first turn, I was just worried where he’d position himself.
“Ability is not his problem. It’s just being a stayer and trying to win these shorter races.”
The victory was particularly satisfying for Brett after Fade To Black returned to his kennel following a stint in Melbourne where the star chaser struggled to reproduce his best.
“He just lost all confidence in Melbourne, so the owners sent him back up to me hoping to find a bit of his old form,” he said.
“On his night, as a stayer, he can match most stayers going around when he’s running with that sort of confidence.”
Fade To Black is already well acquainted with success at Q2 over the longer 710m journey, where he holds the track record and fastest time of 2026 after clocking 40.85 in February.
Thursday night’s victory improved his career record to an imposing 22 wins and 16 placings from 59 starts, with his prize money now beyond $257,000.
The double continued what has been an outstanding 2026 for Brett’s kennel – with 165 starters this year he has prepared 67 winners for a remarkable strike rate.
While Brett said his powerhouse 2016 season, when he prepared 118 winners from 342 starters would be difficult to surpass, he could not be happier with how his smaller team was performing.
Brett is hopeful the kennel can maintain its momentum through the closing months of the year but said doing so would be no easy feat.
