The Lindsay Park team of Ben, Will and J D Hayes did not get the result they were hoping for with their first foray into Hong Kong with Mr Brightside and will now switch their attention to the jumps carnival at Warrnambool.
Mr Brightside finished last in the Champions Mile (1600m) at Sha Tin on Sunday and the stable posted on social media the gelding had pulled up well from the outing.
“Mr B has pulled up well and is already home in his box getting stuck into his dinner,” they posted.
“After today he will spend a couple of weeks in quarantine in Australia before travelling home to Euroa.”
That performance was Mr Brightside’s worst in his 44-start career, 43 of which have been for Lindsay Park.
The Hayes brothers have a team of seven runners accepted for the Warrnambool meeting on Tuesday with Port Guillaume their headline act in the Brierly Steeplechase (3450m).
Lindsay Park had three flat winners at last year’s carnival and would like to add a feature jumps race win to their tally.
Jumpers have always played a part of the Lindsay Park empire right from when Colin Hayes first started training in Adelaide back in the late 1940’s.
Ben Hayes said Port Guillaume had been targeted at Tuesday’s race after the brothers and jockey Tom Ryan decided on the Brierly rather than the Galleywood Hurdle, a race the gelding ran second in last year.
Originally purchased as a Caulfield and Melbourne Cup contender, Port Guillaume has been racing over jumps since 2022 and is coming off a last start third in a Pakenham steeplechase on April 13.
“That was his first race (this time in), and he was still getting used to them,” Hayes said.
“His first couple, he didn’t jump them well, but his last couple were his best.
“We have schooled him since and he schooled a lot better, and he’s woken up and now knows what he is to be expecting.
“We had a good talk to Tom about him, and he said to stay with the steeples. His last few were his best jumps and it’s all a confidence thing with him.”
