Brightside begins build-up to spring

[Wandering Eyes]

Star galloper Mr Brightside (NZ) (Bullbars) has begun his build-up towards a spring campaign, with the Group One Memsie Stakes shaping as his potential return again, should things go to plan.

After an autumn campaign in Victoria this year which included Mr Brightside claiming his ninth career Gr.1 win with a victory in the Futurity Stakes, the seven-year-old was taken to Hong Kong for the Gr.1 Champions Mile in late April, but failed to fire when finishing last in the field of 13.

“He’s back in work. He’s great,” Mr Brightside’s co-trainer Ben Hayes said.

“And potentially if all goes to plan he’ll look to kick off in the Memsie.

“We’ll monitor him and just see how he is but it’s probably the most obvious race for him to kick off in.”

Mr Brightside won the Memsie two years ago, while last year he finished second to Pinstriped when resuming from a spell.

The weight-for-age Memsie (1400m) will be run on August 30.

Hayes said Mr Brightside had to do two weeks’ quarantine in Hong Kong after he raced there in the Champions Mile and then completed another two weeks of quarantine in Melbourne.

“He came out and had a very easy 10 days and he’s been under saddle since, so he ended up having nearly six weeks off,” Hayes said.

“He put on good condition and came over looking fantastic.

“We just put a line through the run (in Hong Kong). He was a bit too fresh, he over-raced and didn’t finish off. So that’s all it was.”

View the full article