Mr Brightside's Flemington Mile participation uncertain

The Lindsay Park training outfit, comprising Ben, Will, and J D Hayes, will hold off on confirming Mr Brightside's start at Flemington until the acceptance stage.

Mr Brightside is expected to be nominated for the Group 2 Kia Ora Stud Mile (1600m) this Saturday, though Ben Hayes indicated he is only a 50-50 chance of taking part.

His last race saw Mr Brightside finish at the tail of the field behind Pride Of Jenni in the Feehan Stakes (1600m) at Caulfield on September 27.

Following that performance, Mr Brightside participated in a jump-out at Flemington last Friday, securing second place.

"It was an OK trial, but we've just got to have a good think about it and see how he is on Wednesday," Hayes shared.

"He's come through it fine, but we've got to talk to the ownership group and make a decision.

"He's 50-50 on whether he runs otherwise we will give him a break and target the autumn."

An autumn campaign earlier this year was missed by Mr Brightside due to surgery for a bone chip, and he has since competed in three races.

He finished second on his preferred soft going in the Memsie Stakes at Caulfield first-up, but experienced jarring in the Makybe Diva Stakes at Flemington.

"We thought we had him back on top at Caulfield, but unfortunately, we had to run in the Feehan as there wasn't an upgrade of the track," Hayes commented.

"If there had been we would have scratched him, but we weren't allowed."

Hayes noted that should the decision be made to bypass Saturday's engagement, Mr Brightside would be sent for a break to prepare for the autumn racing season.

He acknowledged discussions about retirement, a subject the entire team and ownership group finds difficult to contemplate.

"We have spoken to the group about it, and we don't like to talk about it, but probably the autumn may likely be his last campaign," Hayes said.

"He's a rising 10-year-old, but the thing about him is he's a very sound horse and if there was any inkling there was any problem with him, we would be retiring him.

"He's a happy, sound horse, he's a gelding, and has been lightly raced with only 51 starts throughout his whole career.

"He's had three runs back from injury and he's been a most special horse to us.

"We want to protect him and maybe give him another good break before we target the autumn.

"If we turn him out now, he can have a bit longer, which may be better for him, but we just want to see how he is closer to acceptance time before making a decision."

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