He is already one of this season’s big improvers but there is still a lot more in store in the new year for Mr Brightside (NZ) (Bullbars) as his All-Star Mile campaign steps up.
Co-trainer J D Hayes reported on Saturday that Mr Brightside was showing the Lindsay Park stable that his rapid rate of improvement in the second half of last year has continued onto 2022 with the New Zealand-bred four-year-old blooming as his preparation progresses.
“He’s put on weight and thriving in work,” Hayes said on Saturday.
“Horses like him usually improve from his first prep to his next and that is what he’s done and hopefully we’ll see that when he steps out.
“We didn’t turn him out on a bad run, and he’s spelled as well as we could have hoped.”
Mr Brightside began his run this season with a restricted class win at Sandown on August 1 when he was just a 63-rater.
He strung six wins in a row before finishing fourth, beaten half a length, in the Gr.1 Cantala Stakes (1600m) before he went out for a break with a vastly improved rating of 98.
The campaign proved to connections that he was worth aiming high with and so they have. He is due to kick-off his autumn with a run in the $160,000 Listed Elms Stakes (1400m) at Flemington on February 19 before starting in the $300,000 Gr.2 Blamey Stakes (1600m) at Flemington March 5.
Mr Brightside has been entered for the $5 million All Star Mile (1600m) two weeks later at Flemington and Hayes said that if he does not gain a run via the public vote, the Blamey Stakes, where the winner is ballot-free for the All-Star Mile, will be his back-up chance.
“We’re planning a four-run campaign with the Doncaster (Handicap) run two weeks after the All-Star Mile on his agenda as well.”
Hayes said the stable’s Group Two winner over the spring Zayydani (NZ) (Savabeel) was just returning to the stable after a long break following her Gr.2 Matriarch Stakes (2000m) success with a Brisbane winter carnival likely.
Zayydani became the first stakes winner for the new training team of Ben and J D Hayes when she took the Listed Gold Crown (2137m) at Eagle Farm in June and the pair are hopeful there are more stakes victories there for her this winter.
“She’s just come back into work and we’ll target a race like the Doomben Cup,” he said.
“It’ll be good to get her back to Queensland where there are a number of races that could suit her.”
