The Lindsay Park stable of Ben, Will and J D Hayes are in a quandary as to the best way to get Mr Brightside (NZ) (Bullbars) to his Group One target of the spring.
The Gr.1 King Charles III Stakes (1600m) at Randwick on October 18 has been earmarked for the nine-time winner at Group 1 level.
Ben Hayes said he and his brothers had discussed options for the eight-year-old who returned with a pleasing second in the Gr.1 Memsie Stakes (1600m) at Caulfield on August 30.
The Gr.1 Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) at Flemington on Saturday is under consideration, as is the 7 Stakes (1600m) at Randwick on Saturday week, with a leaning to the former, although a decision won’t be made until closer to acceptance time on Wednesday.
Hayes said the team was not shying away from either Treasurethe Moment or Via Sistina, although the Gr.1 Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley on October 25 is not in their planning.
He said the weather would play an important role in their decision, although Hayes joked that wherever Mr Brightside goes, the rain stays away.
However, Mr Brightside did score one of his most impressive wins in last year’s Makybe Diva Stakes when he struck a heavy track.
Hayes said finding the right program into the King Charles III was difficult.
“If we run in the Makybe Diva, it’s five weeks, if we run in the 7 Stakes, it’s four weeks,” Hayes said.
“If he runs next week, we could run him in the Feehan Stakes (at Moonee Valley), like we did last year, or we could keep him fresh and not race for five weeks.
“It’s tricky, because if you’re not going up in trip, there’s no race that he can really go for, apart from the Feehan.
“There looks like there’s plenty of rain next week, so we might stay in Melbourne, but he has come through his run really well and he’s genuinely bucking his brands off.”
Hayes said Treasurethe Moment looked special in her return win and is confident of finishing closer to the mare if the decision is made to go to the Makybe Diva.
“If you look at the race, she definitely had the cruisiest run in the race and she had the cruisiest win, but we had to work from the barrier, there was high pressure, he absorbed it, and he beat the rest of the field,” Hayes said.
“If he goes to the Makybe Diva, he’ll finish a lot closer to her. He’ll improve out of sight. His second-up record is very good, and he was not wound up for it.”
With the Cox Plate already on the backburner, Hayes said Mr Brightside was likely to come back to Melbourne for the Gr.1 Champions Mile (1600m) or the Gr.1 Champions Stakes (2000m) at Flemington on the final day of Melbourne Cup week with the potential of backing up into the Gr.1 C F Orr Stakes at Caulfield the following Saturday.
“We’ve never backed him up like that before,” Hayes said.
