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| Staff Writer |
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With a long spring campaign still ahead, trainers Ben, Will, and J D Hayes have decided to bring Mr Brightside back to the Lindsay Park training operation at Euroa in order to prepare him for his next assignment at Flemington.
This decision comes after Mr Brightside's impressive wins in the Gr.2 P B Lawrence Stakes and the Gr.1 Memsie Stakes, both held at Caulfield over a distance of 1400m.
Now, the talented racehorse is set to compete in the highly anticipated Gr.1 Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) at Flemington on Saturday.
Mr. Brightside has found great success in his training by staying at Flemington between runs, once he gets fully immersed in his preparation.
"The three of us had a chat and decided to take him up to the farm," Ben Hayes said. "We took him up to the farm because we've got a lovely grass gallop.
"He's a bit of a bombproof horse. He's good at Flemington, he's good at the farm, but we can get him out in the paddock, we've also got the water walkers up there, all the freshening up facilities, just to keep him happy.
"Hopefully we're right, but he's a dream to have in training. I wish they were all like him."
Mr Brightside Returns For Saturday Race
On Thursday, Mr Brightside will be returning to Lindsay Park's Flemington stable in preparation for Saturday's race. Speaking about the upcoming event, Hayes expressed his surprise at the small field of seven participants, which will likely make the Makybe Diva Stakes a strategic affair. Nevertheless, Hayes was pleased to see that Mr Brightside has drawn gate two.
"Last year when we ran in those small fields, we drew wide and elected to go back," Hayes said. "When you give horses like Alligator Blood an easy time in front in a sprint home, it's very hard to chase them down. He Mr Brightside is very versatile, so we won't be too far away from him in the race."
According to Hayes, there is still room for improvement in Mr Brightside's coat. However, he acknowledged that there has been significant progress since the horse first appeared at Caulfield last month.
"Peter Moody said I Wish I Win was quite woolly, well so were we," Hayes said.
"He's looking better again in the coat. His final piece of work on Tuesday was excellent, so he's showing us no signs those first two runs have taken a toll and we're confident he'll run well again. He's never lets us down."