Williams stays on Mr Brightside
Champion jockey excited about more spring glory with 9YO in Group 1 Memsie Stakes
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Mr Brightside flanked by jockey Craig Williams (left) and groom Will Evans after his third consecutive win in the Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes (1,600m) at Flemington on Sept 13, 2025.
PHOTO: SKY RACING WORLD
MELBOURNE – Craig Williams knows the unforgettable ride with Mr Brightside is going to end at some point, but he is excited about embarking on a sixth Spring Carnival with the gelding.
The Melbourne multiple-champion jockey will reunite with the Ben, Will and J.D. Hayes-trained nine-year-old in the A$750,000 (S$682,000) Group 1 Memsie Stakes at Caulfield on Aug 29.
The 1,400-metre weight-for-age contest is a race Williams and Mr Brightside combined to win in 2023, while they have also finished second in the Caulfield feature in the past two years.
It will be Williams’ 45th race ride on the son of Bullbars, who will be at his 49th career start.
Of Mr Brightside’s 20 victories to date – which include 10 Group 1 wins – Williams had been in the saddle 18 times.
Besides the Memsie Stakes, the pair have combined to claim three successive Makybe Diva Stakes (1,600m) from 2023 to 2025, the Futurity Stakes (1,400m) in 2024 and 2025, the 2022 Doncaster Mile (1,600m), the 2024 Orr Stakes (1,400m) and the 2024 VRC Champions Mile (1,600m) at the highest level.
Mr Brightside’s only Group 1 success without Williams on board was the 2023 Doncaster Mile, which he won with nine-time Hong Kong champion jockey Zac Purton.
Williams always had a soft spot for the veteran gelding, with whom he won his first race, a Maiden Plate in 2021.
“I’ve been lucky to ride 90 Group 1 winners in my career, and I’ve ridden some phenomenal horses, but I’ve won more Group 1 races on him than any other horse,” he said.
“That just tells you what he means to me.
“The other part that makes it so special is that I was part of his development. I won his maiden on him and was part of his placement and his development to be that horse.
“He didn’t just step out and become a Group 1 horse.
“The (Hayes) boys have just managed him so well and I’m looking forward to him being back at the racetrack.”
Some were a bit concerned after Mr Brightside was shaded by Cafe Millenium in a track gallop at Sandown on Aug 22, but Williams and the Hayes brothers were happy with what they saw.
Similar concerns were raised ahead of the 2025 Memsie Stakes following a plain final jumpout, but Mr Brightside rebounded to beat home all bar Treasurethe Moment in Victoria’s first Group 1 race of the season.
He followed that up with a third-straight Makybe Diva Stakes win.
Williams pointed to the fact that Mr Brightside has not raced since his last-start fifth in the Group 1 Champions Mile (1,600m) at Flemington on Nov 8, 2025 to back his belief that he is on track.
“My job is to ride him on race day, in trials and a couple of gallops, and he’s never been an impressive worker,” he said.
“He has worked better before, but he’s never been an impressive worker and he has had a little bit of a longer layoff this time.
“He seems like he’s going really well.”
Mr Brightside is striving to become the 12th multiple winner of the Memsie Stakes, but only the second dual winner in non-consecutive years, alongside Sir Boom (1996 and 1999).
He took on seven individual Group 1 winners in the last Memsie Stakes, and again has a star-studded list of rivals to contend with this time: Treasurethe Moment, Jimmysstar, Autumn Boy, Beiwacht and Cosmic Crusader, among 12 elite-level winners from 17 entries. SKY RACING WORLD