The Lindsay Park stable, managed by Ben, Will, and J D Hayes, will await the final acceptance deadline before confirming if Mr Brightside will contest the Flemington race.

While Mr Brightside is anticipated to be among the nominees for the Group 2 Kia Ora Stud Mile (1600m) this Saturday, Ben Hayes has stated that his participation is only a 50-50 proposition.

In his most recent race, Mr Brightside finished last behind Pride Of Jenni in the Feehan Stakes (1600m) at Caulfield on September 27.

Following that outing, Mr Brightside completed a jump-out at Flemington last Friday, finishing in second place.

“It was an OK trial, but we’ve just got to have a good think about it and see how he is on Wednesday,” Hayes commented.

“He’s come through it fine, but we’ve got to talk to the ownership group and make a decision.

“He’s 50-50 on whether he runs otherwise we will give him a break and target the autumn.”

Mr Brightside missed an autumn campaign earlier this year after undergoing surgery to remove a bone chip and has since had three starts.

He finished second on his preferred soft ground in the Memsie Stakes at Caulfield first-up before jarring up in the Makybe Diva Stakes at Flemington.

“We thought we had him back on top at Caulfield, but unfortunately, we had to run in the Feehan as there wasn’t an upgrade of the track,” Hayes stated.

“If there had been we would have scratched him, but we weren’t allowed.”

Hayes indicated that if the decision is made to skip Saturday’s race, Mr Brightside would be given a spell to prepare for the autumn season.

He mentioned that retirement has been a topic of discussion, something the entire team and ownership group are reluctant to consider.

“We have spoken to the group about it, and we don’t like to talk about it, but probably the autumn may likely be his last campaign,” Hayes said.

“He’s a rising 10-year-old, but the thing about him is he’s a very sound horse and if there was any inkling there was any problem with him, we would be retiring him.

“He’s a happy, sound horse, he’s a gelding, and has been lightly raced with only 51 starts throughout his whole career.

“He’s had three runs back from injury and he’s been a most special horse to us.

“We want to protect him and maybe give him another good break before we target the autumn.

“If we turn him out now, he can have a bit longer, which may be better for him, but we just want to see how he is closer to acceptance time before making a decision.”

Check out the latest betting markets for the Kia Ora Stud Mile through various online bookmakers.