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Can âunderestimated championâ Mr Brightside win another Group 1?
Andrew Slevison ⹠ September 2nd, 2025 12:54 pm
Mr Brightside proved a few doubters wrong at Caulfield on Saturday.
The eight-year-old iron horse ran second to emerging superstar Treasurethe Moment in the Group 1 Memsie Stakes over 1400m.
In the lead-up to the Memsie, a few passed comment that perhaps the best is behind Mr Brightside who endured a torrid trip to Hong Kong earlier this year.
But Lindsay Parkâs stable star performed superbly in a fast-run Memsie, holding the likes of Buckaroo, Fangirl, Antino and Another Wil at bay.
SENTrackâs Gareth Hall believes Mr Brightside - the winner of nine Group 1s - is an âunderestimated championâ who continues to deliver on the big stage.
Hall said on Giddy Up: âIs he the most underestimated champion weâve seen for some time?
âA few wrote him off before Saturday and once again he delivered a performance in typical âMr Bâ style.â
RSN form guru David Gately was full of praise for Mr Brightside, describing him as a âphenomenalâ athlete who is so versatile with his racing style.
âHe wouldnât know how to run a bad race,â Gately said.
âHeâs just a phenomenal and tough athlete. Heâd be one of the first picked on a whiteboard on a number of fronts.
âIâve said it a million times - he can do anything. It doesnât matter the track rating, it doesnât matter the pattern of the day. Iâve seen him sit three wide and win. Iâve seen him win on a Good 3 and a Heavy 10.
âHe is a marvel, and they donât come around too often, those horses that have so many strings to their bow. Especially riding that strong speed. A 47.26 first 800m, that is strong going even by Group 1 standard. Itâs nine lengths above all averages.
âHe was there to be beaten and he fought everything else off bar the super impressive winner.â
Despite the praise, Gately believes it will be a monumental effort for Mr Brightside to add to his nine Group 1 victories this spring.
âJust take your finger off the record button, because I donât want this coming back to bite me - I donât think he wins a Group 1 this year,â Gately said.
âI think he runs well in all of them without winning any. I think these up-and-comers are just a little bit too brilliant for him.
âI could be wrong, how can you pot a horse like him? Iâm not potting him - I think heâll run well in every single race - I just think what you saw on Saturday⊠he only just held off Buckaroo at 1400m.
âNo knock, but Iâll be betting around him and if I get it wrong Iâll be the first to cheer him.â
Co-trainer Ben Hayes said on SENTrack & RSN from the Caulfield jump outs on Tuesday morning that Mr Brightside had pulled up great from his first-up Memsie run.
Hayes spoke of the negative commentary around his champion, stating that age is no barrier for some top-quality horses.
âHe did (have his knockers), but we just stick to our processes,â Hayes said on Giddy Up.
âEveryone is allowed an opinion. It sometimes is annoying because they are commenting from afar and they donât actually know whatâs going on.
âHe showed everyone heâs absolutely fine and that Hong Kong didnât affect him. Just because he ran one bad race in his life doesnât mean a horse is gone.
âAge does not matter. Iâve seen lots of eight and nine-year-olds win Group 1s. We had a horse called Fields Of Omagh win a Cox Plate at nine. They sometimes get better.â
If Hayes had to pick one race that Mr Brightside can win this prep, he sees it being the Makybe Diva Stakes at Flemington on September 13 - provided he does go that way.
Also on the agenda could be the 7 Stakes - an unlisted feature - at Randwick on September 20, then the Group 1 King Charles III Stakes, also at Randwick, on October 18.
Perhaps the Champions Mile to defend his crown on the final day of the Flemington carnival is also on the radar.
âHe can easily win a Makybe Diva if he gets the right run,â Hayes added.
âThereâs two options we can look at with him which is the Makybe Diva or a week later in Sydney in the 7 Stakes. Weâll be looking at both.
âHe can definitely be competitive in the King Charles, (and then) final day (at Flemington in the Champions Mile).â
Hayes said further: âHeâs the most consistent horse Iâve personally seen in the last couple of years other than Winx and Black Caviar.
âName me a horse that puts up a run like him for four years straight in both spring and autumn.â
