Read what each of the jockeys said about their mounts in the Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes.
Winning Jockey
Craig Williams (Mr Brightside)
Special win: “I’m very blessed, very privileged to be a part of this horse, a part of his development which gives me great pride. The Hayes boys, I rode for their father, their uncle, their grandfather and what they’re doing with these equine stars is amazing and again, with myself and my team around me, I can’t do it without them.
On the horse: “This horse, he just carries so many racing fans and people, if you love the song you’ve got him as well, he’s just really captivated people around Australia. He’s the best, or one of the best milers in Australia on his day, he’s the best on his day and one of the best when he’s not. He’s just a marvel, three Makybe Diva’s, when I walked up with my wife today I said ‘we’ve got the Makybe Diva statue now, hopefully he wins three they’ll give him his own bronze statue as well.”
“I think after my experience and what we do in Ukraine, it just makes me more grateful, the things I take for granted each day, to be able to partner up with a horse like him, put on a show and people come out and support our amazing industry. It’s quite unique, we can only do it with the horses we have and again, the team I have around me. This is what I dreamt of as a kid and wrote stories about at school, this is what every rider in the jockey’s room works hard for and continues to work hard for- to win Group Ones and especially these feature races like the Makybe Diva Stakes.
Beaten Jockeys:
Ben Melham (Tom Kitten): “It was a bit of a disaster really, my horse was first up at a mile and I suppose I was in anticipation that Antino at some point might taken off and that never happened, he sort of over raced on a slow tempo, I thought he was okay through the line.”
Blake Shinn (Antino): “The horse ran super, sat back, travelled nice, the pace was obviously moderate, he moved into it at the 400, presented to challenge with Via, peaked at the 100, but he’s building nicely.”
Jamie Mott (Mark Twain): “Terrific. He’s obviously going to be on a Cups campaign so second up after a 1200 metre run on a heavy track, against these weight for age horses, I thought he ran fantastic.”
James McDonald (Via Sistina): “Very good run. Sit and sprint, she dashed well.”
Damian Lane (Aeliana): “Super. Just a little bit fresh in the barriers at this stage of her campaign so she leapt out, unfortunately I couldn’t use any tactical versatility at all, I just had to go back to the rail. Travelled up great, just outsprinted by Mr Brightside who obviously had it very easy and sprinted too sharp.”
