The Group 1 Memsie Stakes (1400m) wouldn’t feel complete without the familiar presence of Mr Brightside, who will line up in the Caulfield feature for the third consecutive year on Saturday.

The Lindsay Park star claimed the race in 2023 before finishing runner-up 12 months later, and this weekend he’ll be chasing his 20th career victory at start number 45 while edging past $17.5 million in prizemoney.

Mr Brightside has been the stable’s flagbearer for Ben, Will and J D Hayes, and the training trio believe the seasoned galloper is in excellent order heading into another campaign.

“He hasn’t put a foot wrong this prep,” Ben Hayes said.

“He’s an amazing horse, he responds to work and gets better and better into his campaigns. He runs well first up then improves. He’s shown us no signs that he’s not going to do the same thing again.

“He’s just a tough, genuine horse, but it’s going to be a very good Memsie and he’ll run well with improvement to come.”

Having campaigned later into the autumn with a Hong Kong trip, Mr Brightside returned home to two weeks of quarantine before spelling at Lindsay Park’s Euroa base. Hayes said that preparation has left him looking sharper than usual for a first-up assignment.

“He’s got a lot better coat on him this year,” Hayes said. “Last year he was a hairy mammoth first up. There’s more of a shine this time around.”

As is tradition for the stable, the gelding has had two jump-outs in readiness for Saturday’s assignment, including a searching 1000m effort at his most recent outing.

“He was there to have a good hit out. We didn’t want him to go to the line on the bridle,” Hayes said. “He needed to have that hard hit out for fitness. He turns up race day, but he’s a lazy trackworker, it’s just him.

“He doesn’t over-exert himself and that’s the reason he’s been at the top level for four years. You are never too confident in Group 1’s but we’re happy he’ll go out there and run a competitive race as he always does.”

Lindsay Park will also saddle up Here To Shock, who is one of only three runners in the 11-horse field with a run under his belt this campaign. The gelding finished third in the Group 2 P B Lawrence Stakes at Caulfield on August 16.

“It was a perfect first-up run,” Hayes said. “They walked and sprinted home the final 400 (metres). He’s got a bit of fitness on his side and deserves his opportunity.”

Punters can find the latest odds for Mr Brightside in the Memsie Stakes and other spring features at Australia’s leading betting sites.