BROWN TAKES PURPLE PATCH OVER TO PERTH

Promising Melbourne jockey bounced back from injury, eyeing 6th Group 1 win in WA

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PERTH - Melbourne's rising star Ethan Brown has given a strong lead when he elected to fly over to Perth to ride Light Infantry Man in the A$1.5 million (S$1.29 million) Group 1 Northerly Stakes (1,800m) at Ascot.

He had to forgo key rides at the Ballarat Cup meeting in Victoria, namely Globe in the eponymous race itself. He recently won the Cranbourne Cup with the Mick Price & Michael Kent Jr-trained galloper.

But Brown said the lure of a sixth career Group 1 win made the decision to fly to Perth a lot easier.

"I was offered the ride on Light Infantry Man a couple of weeks ago," he said.

"I had to decide between this horse or Globe in the Ballarat Cup. It was a hard decision, but I thought I'd have a crack at the Group 1.

"They don't hand out Group 1 races and I thought this was a good opportunity."