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The remarkable story of Kiwi-bred champion Mr Brightside rolled into his seven-year-old season with a historic defence of his title in the A$750,000 Gr.1 Crown Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) at Flemington on Saturday.
The Bullbars gelding became the first back-to-back winner of the weight-for-age feature since it was renamed in honour of the great Makybe Diva in 2007. Under its previous name, the Craiglee Stakes, the repeat winners were Chicquita (1950-51) and Sailor's Guide (1956-57).
The 2024 edition of the Makybe Diva Stakes was the seventh Group One triumph overall for Mr Brightside , who has had a total of 36 starts for 17 wins, 10 placings and more than A$14 million in stakes. That extraordinary haul of prize-money is a far cry from his two trips through the Karaka sale ring in 2019, where he was a $22,000 purchase from the May Sale before being passed in with a $50,000 reserve during the Ready to Run Sale.
"He's a bit of a history-maker, winning this race twice and also being a dual Doncaster (Gr.1, 1600m) winner as well," co-trainer JD Hayes said. "He's unbelievable. He truly is unique. We don't take it lightly having a horse like him. He's been so important to our careers.
"For him to come back and perform like that today is huge. He's like a fine wine – just getting better and better."
There was a strong New Zealand flavour to the Makybe Diva Stakes, in which Mr Brightside scored a thrilling win over the Trelawney Stud-bred Pride Of Jenni. The up-and-coming Redwood gelding Antino finished third, with War Decree four-year-old Warmonger – a runaway last-start winner of the Gr.1 Queensland Derby (2400m) – producing an eye-catching finish for fourth.
But the big story was the spectacular showdown between Mr Brightside and Pride Of Jenni – two great rivals who have now locked horns eight times since last November.
Pride Of Jenni beat Mr Brightside into second in their first meeting in the Gr.1 Champions Mile (1600m), then Mr Brightside reversed that result in the Gr.1 C F Orr Stakes (1400m) in February.
Pride Of Jenni headed another 1-2 finish for the pair in the All-Star Mile (1600m), and she went on to run second in the Gr.1 Australian Cup (2000m) with Mr Brightside behind her in fifth.
The scoreline moved further in Pride Of Jenni's favour in her unforgettable front-running romp in the Gr.1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Randwick in April, in which Mr Brightside finished third.
The pair's rivalry resumed in last month's Gr.1 Memsie Stakes (1400m), where Mr Brightside ran second and Pride Of Jenni was fifth, and Saturday's Makybe Diva Stakes produced one of their greatest battles yet.
Pride Of Jenni adopted her customary tactics, putting the handlebars down and opening up a huge lead. She never looked like slowing down and threw down a huge challenge to her rivals to try to chase her down in the straight.
The only one able to bridge the gap was Mr Brightside, who moved into second place rounding the home turn and then began to close the gap with every powerful stride.
Mr Brightside drew up alongside Pride Of Jenni with 100m remaining and the pair fought tooth and nail through the final stages, with Mr Brightside edging past his great rival to win by a long neck. There were another four and a quarter lengths back to the third-placed Antino.
"That was thrilling – what a spectacle," JD Hayes said. "Pride Of Jenni was so brave out in front, as she always is, and our bloke had to knuckle down to the task. He's a model of consistency and we're so glad to have him."
Mr Brightside was guided to Saturday's epic win by his regular rider Craig Williams.
"He's just a sensational horse," Williams said. "Ben, JD and Will Hayes have done a great job training him. I'm just the one with the privilege of riding him on raceday.
"It was a hard slog on a wet track today, but he has that tenacity and will to win. He's an amazing racehorse."
The Lindsay Park team will now consider upcoming spring targets, including the Gr.1 King Charles III Stakes (1600m) at Randwick on October 19 and the Gr.1 Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley a week later. Mr Brightside was runner-up in both races last year, beaten by a mere nose in the Cox Plate.
"Those two races are a lot of prize-money to be mentioning in a single sentence," JD Hayes said. "We'll have to look at nominations and work out a plan. He's always been a point-and-shoot horse who will be super competitive in whatever race you put him in."
Mr Brightside was bred by Ray Johnson in partnership with his late wife Martha. He was sold as a yearling for $22,000 via Janine Dunlop's Phoenix Park at the 2019 New Zealand Bloodstock May Sale, then failed to meet his $50,000 reserve when re-offered at the Ready to Run Sale.
An opportunity later arose for Johnson to buy him back on gavelhouse.com for just $7,750, in conjunction with Cambridge trainer Ralph Manning and good friend Shaun Dromgool. Mr Brightside finished a luckless fifth in his sole New Zealand start at Matamata for Manning, having previously won a trial. He was subsequently sold privately to clients of the Hayes stable via Australian agent Wayne Ormond.
