Mr Brightside (NZ) (Bullbars) has suffered his first minor hiccup ahead of his defence of Saturday’s All-Star Mile at Caulfield, drawing the second-widest barrier for the A$4 million feature.
Saturday’s All-Star Mile will feature the smallest field in the race’s six-year history, with just 12 contenders at final acceptances on Tuesday morning, before the race’s long-time odds-on favourite came up with barrier 11.
The wide gate might give rivals a little more hope of rolling Mr Brightside, but it is worth noting that the previous time he came from a double-digit barrier he won as he liked, jumping from gate 14 of 14 to win last spring’s Gr.1 Memsie Stakes, also at Caulfield.
Dual Group One winner Pride Of Jenni (Pride of Dubai), who is the only female in the race, is expected to pose the greatest danger to the favourite and she should find it easy enough to lead from barrier six.
The decision by Racing Victoria to keep the final field at 12 has allowed this year’s line-up to boast the highest-ever average domestic rating of 108.3, despite there being the fewest number of G1 winners (six) to tackle the race.
Ben Hayes said he feels the barrier will not trouble his highly versatile galloper.
“I don’t think it’s too bad,” Hayes said. “The speed is drawn inside us. He’ll just jump and roll across.
“He’s got a great record at Caulfield and he’s sat wide before on a fast tempo and really kicked away.
“If anything, it keeps him out of trouble.
“So, overall, happy. Obviously, barrier six would have been better but we can deal with barrier 11 no problems.”
Hayes said he couldn’t be more pleased with Mr Brightside’s autumn campaign.
“He hasn’t put a foot wrong,” he said. “His work on Monday morning was great and he was very fresh this morning in the paddock running around.
“We can’t fault him. He’s very fit and well and he often peaks third-up in a prep and he’s ready to peak again.”
