You can never accuse former Hawthorn premiership player Campbell Brown of lacking passion for whatever sporting endeavour he pursues.
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While Brown has had his share of moments, which included having the final year of his AFL contract with Gold Coast torn up after being in a brawl with a club teammate, the former player believes that chapter of his life is well and truly in the past.
In contrast, while still a confirmed football lover, he is now deeply involved in reviving his love of another challenging sport that came after the success of Might And Power in the Caulfield Cup of 1997. And with good reason.
Brown, who has now settled in Melbourne, is directing his endless stream of passion into Saturday's $400,000 group 1 Memsie Stakes at Caulfield.
Brown, who was part of the 2008 Hawthorn grand final side, turned 31 on Thursday, and spent a busy day going through the form of the opponents pitted against his outstanding young mare, Sweet Idea, at Caulfield in two days' time and also having a long phone call with former teammate Karmichael Hunt, who had just announced his retirement from AFL football earlier in the day.
"I haven't really stopped. First I was having a good long talk to Karmichael after his decision to return to rugby union. A really great bloke and it was a great experience playing alongside of him," Brown said.
Moments after finishing with Karmichael Hunt, Brown headed to Flemington for a pre-game tactics conference with Sweet Idea's trainer Gai Waterhouse.
Sweet Idea has been brought to Melbourne to avoid the continuing wet tracks in Sydney. But, while the tough little mare is pre-race third favourite, Brown's under no illusion that victory on Saturday will be a walk in the park.
"We've really run into a heck of a race. We actually should have guessed that any group 1 race has plenty of form in it; and this one's no exception.
"We've had so much fun with her. She's now a mare, so if we can grab a group 1 race early in the spring it would be sensational.
"As you've probably guessed, I'm really passionate about my racing and my football," he said.
Brown said he had stayed in touch with the "majority" of the players that he did battle with over the years after leaving Hawthorn.
"The incident at the start of the year is very much in the past. But I don't think outsiders really understand how close you become to guys you are playing with week in week out.
"We share their disappointments, and we share their successes. One minute you are talking to someone who's injured a leg and will miss the season and then the start of another season, but on the other hand you see young kids come up and start to make their presence felt," Brown said.
Brown admits to having a "cruisey" life post football working for FM station Triple M and Channel 7.
"If Sweet Idea does manage to win the Memsie, the race is being run so late that there won't be much celebrating done as I'm then jumping in a car and heading down to Geelong for media commitments in the AFL that night.
"It's just such a unique feeling, having my first bet at 14 and now, just turning 31 today, I'm 48 hours away from a live chance in a group 1 race," he said.
Brown admits that he had to get an older friend to have his first wager on a racehorse and that was a winning one on Might And Power in the 1997 Caulfield Cup.
Brown says that the warmer days and the unmistakable excitement that spring brings mean that Melbourne very much comes alive.
"The football finals first and that brings the very best football you can imagine. And then two teams made up of players that are striving for the ultimate award of a grand final and after that you've got weeks of the spring carnival. So, it's a great place to be at this time of year," Brown said.
