Mr Brightside goes bang

Now a three-time Group 1 winner, Mr Brightside overcame a wide run to take out Saturday's Group 1 Memsie Stakes (1400m) in thrilling fashion.

He's been so well prepared and positioned for his entire career by the Hayes brothers (three of them now) and they have been duly rewarded with a stable-defining horse.

From winning six in a row through the grades in 2021, sneaking into the Group 1 Cantala Stakes (1600m) with just 52kg, then again sneaking into the Group 1 Doncaster Mile (1600m) field in 2022 with a winning weight of just 50kg.

Since then he's furnished into a weight-for-age star, winning the All-Star Mile, a second Doncaster, three more Group 2 races and a third Group 1 on Saturday, his consistency paying dividends.

His Timeform peak rating came in last year's Doncaster win at 124 and he's run within two pounds of that on Saturday at 122, up one pound on his explosive first up win in the Group 2 P B Lawrence Stakes (1400m).

The benefit of that run cannot be understated. I have no doubt in my mind that if he was first up on Saturday, fitness gives out late and he's claimed late. Yet another advantage of racing racehorses!

The wide run on Saturday is probably overplayed a little bit, as if often can be. The time wasn't quick- it rated just sixth fastest on the card, running 0.14 seconds slower overall time than Devoted in the subsequent benchmark 100 and just 0.07 seconds faster than Rheinberg in the earlier benchmark 78.

Still, Alligator Blood and Princess Grace both had very soft runs and I Wish I Win was absolutely close enough and in clear air early enough to chase him down but fitness just gave out late. He and Alligator Blood have both run to 120 which is fine- only one pound off what Mr Brightside did first up.

Amenable was excellent, closing off in the fastest last 400/200m of the meeting. The Group 1 Toorak Handicap (1600m) looks tailor made for him, where I imagine he'd get in quite well at the weights, even against a horse like Amelia's Jewel who is a Group 1 winner.

That said, Mr Brightside deserves to be favourite in anything he runs in this Spring bar a Cox Plate and is such a brilliant bit of narrative for the sport.

Veight motors in Mcneil

This was the win of a pretty serious horse, with Veight charging home in between runners to take out the Group 3 Mcneil Stakes (1200m).

Already a Group 2 winner, he started $4.50 in the Group 1 Inglis Sires' (1400m), a tough run on very testing ground taking its toll behind Militarize.

He's run to a clear new peak first up at 111 with Timeform, up from 106 off his Group 2 VRC Sires' (1400m) win and he did in the style of a horse who is only going to improve further.

Some inconclusive jump outs leading in had a few, jockey Damian Lane included, just thinking he'd probably find the 1200m a bit sharp but he sprinted well and was strong through the line, defeating a filly I have plenty of time for in Legacies.

Mcneil runners can go one of two ways- either the sprinting route with the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) as the target or up in trip with the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas (1600m) as the target.

Veight is on the latter path and there's plenty of nice comparisons to make to see where he fits in. First of all, the five-year winning average for the Mcneil is 109.6, held up by Native Soldier (115) in 2018 and Jacquinot (114) last year.

Native Soldier and also Super Seth (107 in 2019) went to the Caulfield Guineas. Native Solider, having also won the Prelude, started $5.50 second favourite to a star three-year-old in The Autumn Sun and struggled.

Super Seth was beaten at his next two runs but bounced back to famously win the Guineas, starting $7.50 vs Alligator Blood.

Veight, even more so than the other two, gives me the impression that he'll eat up a mile and possibly even further in time. His sire, Grunt, was a top miler on his day and Veight as a whole has the breeding to suggest 2000m would be no issue.

I think he deserves to be second favourite in the Guineas market. Militarize, being a Sires & Champagne winner probably has to be default favourite, but there's an angle to say his form is a bit shaky, exacerbated by the very heavy tracks he won those races on.

Veight will be prepared with the Guineas solely in mind third up and I think he'll probably win the Prelude and start quite short in the Guineas itself.