The experienced galloper Mr Brightside is on track to continue his preparation for a return to the racetrack with a jump-out at Flemington.
The nine-year-old, trained by the Lindsay Park team of Ben, Will, and J D Hayes, is scheduled to take part in a 1000-metre jump-out this Friday morning.
Mr Brightside is in the process of preparing for his first race back, the Group 1 Memsie Stakes over 1400 metres at Caulfield on August 29.
The gelding missed his autumn campaign after a minor surgery to remove a bone chip earlier this year. He has not competed since finishing fifth behind Ceolwulf in the Group 1 Champions Mile (1600m) at Flemington on the final day of the previous Melbourne Cup Carnival.
Mr Brightside had his initial jump-out since that run at Flemington on August 3, where he was given a gentle workout, in line with the usual Lindsay Park approach.
It is expected that Mr Brightside will undertake a more rigorous session on Friday.
“He pulled up good from that jump-out, no problems at all,” J D Hayes mentioned.
“He’ll trial again on Friday and then it’s two weeks to the Memsie and then hopefully we can give him a day away with a course proper gallop, hopefully that will be at Sandown.
“But the way he is going, I reckon he’ll run a cheeky race first-up.”
Also slated for a jump-out on Friday is the dual Melbourne Cup winner Half Yours, who will be in the same heat as Mr Brightside, the opening heat of the morning.
Half Yours’s last race was in Brisbane, where he finished fourth in the Q22 (2200m) at Eagle Farm in June.
The Tony and Calvin McEvoy-trained stayer is preparing for a return in the Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) on September 12, with the ultimate goal of defending his title in the Melbourne Cup in November.
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