Mr Brightside will forever be a special horse in the careers of Ben, Will and JD Hayes, but he is presented with a chance to break new ground for Lindsay Park at Caulfield this Saturday.
The seven-year-old son of Bullbars will chase a ninth Group 1 win when he resumes in the $750,000 C F Orr Stakes (1400m), in which victory would make him the most successful elite-level performer in the 77-year history of the training operation founded by Colin Hayes.
Better Loosen Up owns that honour, with eight Group 1 wins, including a Cox Plate and Japan Cup for David Hayes, and while JD Hayes said it was amazing what he achieved in a sadly-brief stint at the top level, Mr Brightside’s longevity made an equally-impressive performer.
“With ‘BLU’, we all talk about him because he was such a champion, but he was only around for two seasons and able to achieve what he did for my old man,” Hayes said.
“Mr Brightside is gearing up for his fourth (season) here, so he’s been around for a long time.
“The comparisons were drawn early, but I think they are warranted.”
Mr Brightside is striving to become just the fifth multiple winner of the C F Orr Stakes, a race first run in 1925, and only the second behind Typhoon Tracy (2010/11) since it attained Group 1 status in 1993.
Lord (1959/60) and three-time winners Manikato (1979-81) and Vo Rogue (1988-90) are the other multiple winners.
An earner of almost $16.4 million in stakes, Mr Brightside has won the Doncaster Mile and Makybe Diva Stakes twice, a Memsie Stakes, Futurity Stakes and last year’s Champions Mile, which was his most recent racetrack appearance.
Mr Brightside also won the All-Star Mile in 2023, before the race gained the Group 1 status it will carry this year, and that 1600m event at Flemington on March 8 is again an autumn target.
In between the Orr Stakes and All-Star Mile, Mr Brightside will run in the Futurity Stakes, also a 1400m Group 1 weight-for-age event worth $750,000 at Caulfield, on February 22 – a race he won last year.
“He’ll follow the same path that he has for the last three years and he just looks tremendous, he’s absolutely glowing in the coat,” Hayes said at Thursday morning’s Festival of Racing launch, which will held at the Hayes family’s Flemington stable.
“He’s going as good as ever, he’s ticked every box that we’ve thrown at him and that usually culminates in a consistent performance, so hopefully that’s what we’ll get on Saturday.”
Mr Brightside has drawn barrier eight in the 10-horse Orr Stakes with Craig Williams to make his return to the saddle after more than a week on the sidelines due to illness.
