Australia: Mr Brightside preps for Grade 1 in P.B. Lawrence Stakes at Caulfield

Mr Brightside ended the Australian fall season in April with his first Grade 1 win in the $2.2 million Doncaster Handicap at a mile at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney.

Mr Brightside could return to race at that level very soon, depending on the results of his comeback in Saturday’s Group 2 P.B. Lawrence Stakes at seven furlongs at Caulfield Racecourse in Melbourne.

A winner of 7 of 13 starts, Mr Brightside figures to be a slight choice over the dangerous veteran Scallopini in a field of nine. I Am Superman, a Group 2 winner in 2020 and 2021, is also well respected despite a nine-race losing streak.

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Mr Brightside won the 20-runner Doncaster by a half-length at 19-1. In March, he was a game fourth by 3 1/2 lengths in the $3.69 million All-Star Mile at Flemington Racecourse, a race in which part of the field is determined by a public ballot.

The Lawrence Stakes is worth $213,000 and could lead to a start in the Group 1 Memsie Stakes at Caulfield, a $710,000 race at seven furlongs on Aug. 27.

Scallopini, an 8-year-old gelding, was a stakes winner at Sunshine Coast Racecourse in January, but is winless in his last four starts. He was second in the Group 3 Bletchingly Stakes on soft turf at six furlongs at Caulfield on July 23, closing well to finish a head behind King of Sparta.

Caulfield’s turf course is expected to be rated as good for the Lawrence Stakes, which should suit Streets of Avalon, who was third in the All-Star Mile on good turf, but eighth of nine in the Bletchingly Stakes.

Caulfield has a nine-race program, beginning at 10:10 p.m. Eastern or 7:10 p.m. Pacific on Friday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

Earlier on the Caulfield program, Uncommon James, a winner of four consecutive races, will have his 2022 stakes debut in the $124,200 Regal Roller Stakes at six furlongs.

Uncommon James, a stakes winner in 2021, has won twice this year in sprints at tracks in Brisbane, Australia. This is his first start at a Melbourne track.

The Regal Roller Stakes drew a field of 11, including Lombardo, the winner of the Group 1 Goodwood Stakes at six furlongs at Morphettville Racecourse in Adelaide in his most recent start on May 21. Lombardo led throughout the Goodwood as a 17-1 outsider in a field of 19.