The training partnership of brothers Ben, Will and J D are living the dream with multiple Group 1 winner Mr Brightside in their stable.
The New Zealand-bred galloper has provided firstly Ben and J D and later Will, when he joined the training ticket, with 16 victories from 31 starts, six of which have been at Group 1 level.
Their placement of Mr Brightside throughout his two-and-a-half years in the stable has led to a reinvigorated Lindsay Park which had seen horse numbers fall, firstly after the move to Hong Kong of their father David and later cousin Tom Dabernig.
Mr Brightside has also been a good money spinner for Lindsay Park winning just shy of $12.5 million in prize money and he will chase another $2 million first prize money cheque when he contests the All-Star Mile at Caulfield on Saturday for which he is the $1.80 favourite with online bookmakers.
The gelding won the All-Star Mile at Moonee Valley last year before going onto win a second Group 1 Doncaster Mile at Randwick.
Ben Hayes said when Mr Brightside began his career at Lindsay Park, he did not envisage the gelding being a $12.5 million earner and being in sixth place on the all-time money earners list.
“If you asked J D, Will or I, we’ve had a giggle with him,” Hayes said.
“We’re living the dream. We’re so lucky to have the horse and we now have to focus on placing him and keeping him as happy as possible.”
Now a six-year-old, Mr Brightside has taken his form to another level this year.
In eight starts since last August, Mr Brightside has won on five occasions, four times at Group 1 level, with three runner-up finishes, including the Cox Plate at Moonee Valley.
Hayes said as Mr Brightside has got older, not only has his form in races improved, so too has his work on the training track.
He said Mr Brightside delighted he and his brothers with a piece of work at Lindsay Park’s Euroa property last week where the gelding spends the majority of his time between runs.
“He was fantastic. As he’s got older, he’s become a better trackworker,” Hayes said.
“He’s casual, but when he works in company, he wakes up.
“The nice thing is we’ve done very similar as last year into the All-Star Mile.
He followed the same program last year and worked the same into the race, and that’s what you want to see with him.
“We know he’s well.
“We don’t have to test him and at the moment it’s been a very clean run into the All-Star Mile.”