Former butler John Mahedy can start to enjoy some of the finer things in life after he collected $250,000 thanks to Mr Brightside’s stirring victory in the fifth edition of the $5 million Sharp EIT All-Star Mile at Moonee Valley.
The former Echuca resident, who now lives in Albury, was left temporarily speechless after Mr Brightside, trained by Ben and J.D. Hayes, surged clear under Luke Currie to become the first Victorian-trained winner of Australia’s richest mile race.
Mahedy got his chance to be in the running for the big payday after being chosen at random from thousands of pundits who nominated their favourite horse for Australia’s only fan-voted race.
He cast his vote for the five-year-old gelding due to his admiration for the Lindsay Park operation, which was founded by Colin Hayes before being passed down the generations to his son David and now his grandsons.
Mr Brightside delivered a first Group 1 for Ben and J.D. when he won last year’s Doncaster Mile, and the same horse continued an autumnal purple patch which has already seen the emerging training partnership add to its Group 1 tally in the Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m).
As Currie, who flew over from Hong Kong to take the ride, made the winning move, Mahedy was swamped by his 14 fellow owner ambassadors, who themselves shared in the remaining half of the total $500,000 prize purse.
“I’m excited, elated, all the emotions you can possibly feel,” said the 76-year-old, who has vowed to donate some of his winnings to charity in the Echuca-Moama and Rochester district.
“I’ve loved horses for as long as I can remember, I can recite the winner of every Melbourne Cup since 1950 and have backed a few if them down the years, but this would have to be the best feeling I’ve every had on a racetrack.
“The whole experience has been magical, all the owner ambassadors have had the most wonderful time and I’m sure we’ll all remember this day for a very long time.”
Cascadian charged home from the back of the pack to grab second and earn a $75,000 payday for his owner ambassador Dean Linforth, a boilermaker from regional Victoria who has pledged to help his son start his own business.
Third went to The Inevitable, which continued the fairy-tale journey he has taken trainer Scott Brunton and his predominantly Taswegian ownership group on since recapturing his form with five straight wins in his homeland in the build-up to the All-Star Mile.
Father-of-four Aaron Crawford was the beneficiary of The Inevitable’s mighty performance as he heads back to his farm in regional NSW with a cheque for $40,000 in his luggage.
— Racing Victoria