With the Doncaster Mile looming, Lindsay Park is hoping for a late opportunity for Rise At Dawn, the first emergency, to secure a start and follow in the footsteps of stable star Mr Brightside.

Mr Brightside hadn’t broken through at Group level before his stunning win in the Doncaster Mile in 2022. Now, the Hayes training trio — Ben, Will, and JD — hope to see history repeat with Rise At Dawn, who is on a similar career path.

Before his breakthrough, Mr Brightside had run fourth in the All-Star Mile (1600m). Rise At Dawn finished sixth in the same race this year behind Tom Kitten, who he’ll meet again — but with a significant 4.5kg weight swing at Randwick if he makes the field.

“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.”

Should there be a scratching, Rise At Dawn will jump from gate two and is expected to race prominently.

“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 celebrated two Doncaster Mile wins in the past three years, while champion trainer Chris Waller is out to match the all-time training record of seven wins in the race.

Waller has five runners this year, including U.S. imports Moira, a Breeders Cup winner, and Anisette, who has two Oaks wins to her name.

“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