Lindsay Park is holding out hope that first emergency Rise At Dawn gains a start in the Doncaster Mile, with the stable dreaming of a repeat of Mr Brightside’s breakout performance from 2022.
Three years ago, Mr Brightside was yet to break through at Group level before scoring the first of his back-to-back Doncaster wins as a four-year-old. His path included a fourth-place finish in the All-Star Mile (1600m), a route Rise At Dawn has also taken.
The Hayes team of Ben, Will and JD have followed a similar blueprint with Rise At Dawn, who placed sixth behind Tom Kitten in this year’s All-Star Mile and is now set to benefit from a 4.5kg weight drop if he gains a start at Randwick.
“We’ve taken our time with him and he has just kept stepping up,” Ben Hayes said.
“He was really thrown in the deep end in the All-Star Mile…. you can just see those topliners are a little bit good for him at the moment but he is that kind of horse who will keep improving.
He has come out of the race in excellent order and he gets into a Doncaster with 51 kilos, and he’s got the same rating as Mr Brightside when he won it, so fingers crossed.”
Drawn to jump from barrier two if he gains entry, Rise At Dawn could be a serious contender with his front-running style.
“He has got that high natural cruising speed and with 51 kilos on his back in the ‘Donnie’ and a couple of good, hard runs, he will be a horse people forget and he’ll surprise, a bit like Brightside did.”
Lindsay Park has won two of the past three editions of the Doncaster thanks to Mr Brightside, while Chris Waller is looking to equal the record for most wins in the race by a trainer, joining legends T J Smith and Gai Waterhouse with seven victories.
Waller will be represented by five runners this year, including American imports Moira and Anisette, both making their Australian debuts. Moira is a Breeders Cup Fillies and Mares winner, while Anisette boasts two Oaks wins in the U.S.
“She (Moira) is a talented horse. I think she will be better in the spring but she is definitely going to have a run in the autumn and the Doncaster is the right race for her,” Waller said.
“(Anisette) is not as good as Moira but Moira has come to Australia with more condition. They have both put on good weight but Anisette looks the better of the two in terms of how she has done since she has been here.”