Mr Brightside’s back! Hayes ecstatic with trial; confirmed for Memsie

Mr Brightside, who we haven’t seen since the Champions Mile last spring, thanks to undergoing a minor surgery in early 2026 to remove a small bone chip from his left-fore fetlock, is nearing his return to the races.

The 10-time Group 1 winner completed a trial on Monday and was put through his paces by Mark Zahra, edging the Ben, Will & JD Hayes-trained nine-year-old closer to the Memsie Stakes – a race which has served as Mr Brightside's launching pad into the spring in the last two years.

Reflecting on the trial, co-trainer JD Hayes admitted that he “couldn’t be happier with him,” heading into the spring.

"It was his first trial after a long time off, he blew the cobwebs out and seems to have come through it in really good order," Hayes told Punters.

"He's come back great and he's really appreciated the time off.

"I couldn't be happier with him and all guns blazing to Friday week where he's going to have a more serious trial."

Speaking on SENTrack & RSN’s Giddy Up prior to the trial, Ben & Will’s co-trainer admitted that they carefully curated a plan to bring the fan favourite back to the races first-up in the Memsie.

“Mr Brightside’s back! Terribly excited. It'll be great to have the flag bearer back at the races,” JD Hayes exclaimed.

“We've got a plan picked out for him to get to the Memsie first-up.

“We've been walking past his box for the last four months, we definitely haven't forgotten about him, we’re very much looking forward to this spring.”

When looking at the market for that first-up run across 1400m on August 29, the nine-year-old is currently $8 with Sportsbet to win his 11th Group 1.