A week has passed since Mr Brightside’s thrilling victory in the Champions Mile at Flemington and the Lindsay Park team are still beaming with pride in what he was able to achieve on the final day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival.
In the midst of a freshen after a six-start campaign that notched two Group 1 wins – both at Flemington over 1600-metres – and three other placings at the highest level, the gelding has spent the last seven days at the Hayes’ farm where rest and relaxation has been mixed with time on the water walker.
“He’s a very happy horse in the day paddocks and he’ll be back in work before you know it,” Ben Hayes said.
For next year, it is races over the mile that will dominate Mr Brightside’s program of which in the autumn that could include an appearance in the Group 1 All-Star Mile (1600m) at Flemington or a trip to Sydney before heading they scratch the Hong Kong itch to take on the Group 1 Champions Mile (1600m) at Sha Tin in late April.
“It’s the right time,” Ben Hayes said.
“He’s seven, he’s done all he can here in Australia – he’s been very competitive – and I think now all in the ownership are happy to keep him at a mile.”
Backing the stable’s thinking, according to Racing and Sports ratings some of Mr Brightside’s best performances have been over 1600 metres with his peak ratings of 125 achieved in the Group 1 Champions Mile last weekend at Flemington and in the same race in 2023, together with the Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes in September.
He also achieved a rating of 125 in the Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m) in 2023 when finishing a narrow second to Romantic Warrior to show just strong the company is that he has kept.
“Probably next spring we’ll look to aim at a King Charles III Stakes rather than a Cox Plate,” Ben added.
“That would then allow a month between that run and then the Champions Mile at Flemington.”
Despite a future focus on 1600-metres or thereabouts for the gelding, the Hayes trio are not discounting a return to events over ten furlongs.
“He’s shown that he’s an elite miler even though we still think he runs 2000-metres but he’s just been unlucky in those strongly run race,” he added.
“What can you do? That’s racing.
“It isn’t set in stone but the ownership group and us trainers, we think we’ll keep him at a mile.”
