Mr Brightside (NZ) Steals the Show in All-Star Mile

Four years after he was bought for only $22,000 at the 2019 Karaka May Sale, Mr Brightside (NZ) (Bullbars) has delivered a massive payday for his connections in one of Australia’s richest races.

The five-year-old gelding was the star of the show in Saturday’s A$5m The Sharp EIT All-Star Mile (1600m) at Moonee Valley. It was the 10th win of a 22-start career for Mr Brightside, who has now banked more than $5.8m in prize-money.

This year’s All-Star Mile drew a field worthy of the name, with proven quality throughout the 15-strong line-up, headed by multiple Group One winners Alligator Blood (All Too Hard) and I’m Thunderstruck (NZ) (Shocking).

But Mr Brightside upstaged them all, quickening brilliantly out of midfield in the hands of the Hong Kong-based jockey Luke Currie to win by half a length.

“It means the world to the family and the owners,” co-trainer JD Hayes said. “That was just an experience I’ve never felt before, so I think it’s going to be pretty well celebrated. This means everything.

“The horse has shown great tenacity from day dot. Wayne Ormond, when he found him in New Zealand, he said that his tenacity to attack the line is just ultra-competitive.

“They are things in champions you can’t measure, and luckily for us he’s just boasting a lot of those qualities.

Mr Brightside is now likely to be given the opportunity to defend his crown in the race that first marked his arrival among Australia’s top echelon – the A$4m Group One Doncaster Mile (1600m) at Randwick on April 1.

“I think he’ll go to the Doncaster,” Hayes said. “That would put him in an elite bracket, but he’s already in an elite bracket in my heart. He’s an absolute beauty.”