‘It was so cruel’: Hayes family’s heartbreak at Mr Brightside’s Cox Plate defeat

The Hayes brothers went from devastation one moment to plotting a possible rematch the next with Mr Brightside’s Cox Plate conqueror Romantic Warrior.

James McDonald riding Romantic Warrior (left) defeats Craig Williams riding Mr Brightside (right) to win the Ladbrokes Cox Plate. Picture: Vince Caligiuri/Getty Images

The Hayes brothers went from devastation one moment to plotting a possible rematch the next with Mr Brightside’s Cox Plate conqueror Romantic Warrior in the aftermath of an epic edition of Australia‘s weight-for-age championship at the Valley on Saturday.

It was perhaps the only way to deal with a rollercoaster of emotions following the 123 seconds of tension where their game galloper Mr Brightside was narrowly run down by the Hong Kong champion.

Ben, JD and Will Hayes thought for the briefest of moments that they had joined their grandfather Colin (three wins) and father David (two wins) as a third generation of trainers to win the Cox Plate.

They were positioned just past the finish line, along with David and mum Prue, who had made the trip from Hong Kong for the race, and their viewing angle led them to thinking Mr Brightside had clung on to victory in the $5m race.

But the photo showed a heartbreaking nose between their horse and Romantic Warrior, in the international raider’s favour.

Jmac threw everything at Romantic Warrior. 💪 pic.twitter.com/a9IDBVjRkv

— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) October 28, 2023

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“We are so proud,” Ben Hayes said after the race. “It was devastating for us, from the angle we were on. We were just behind the (winning) post.

“We all thought we had won, then we found out we had lost.

“It was so cruel. There are no regrets, he put in his absolute best. We were just beaten by a better horse.”

Ben said the Lindsay Park operation could not have been more proud of their six-year-old banner horse.

“It was a great ride (by Craig Williams). Everything went right, we were just beaten by a better horse,“ he said.

WHAT A RACE!

ROMANTIC WARRIOR WINS THE COX PLATE FOR HONG KONG! 🇭🇰 pic.twitter.com/9Tw19ljGMN

— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) October 28, 2023

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The stable will monitor how Mr Brightside pulls up during the week and will consider running on Champions Day at Flemington before likely heading to Hong Kong in December.

“(It could be) Champions Day, there is the mile (1600m) or the 2000m, if he pulls up well,” he said. “Then we might have to go over (to Hong Kong) and beat him (Romantic Warrior) by a nose.”

It was a bittersweet end to what was a big day for the in-form Lindsay Park team, with their two wins coming from exciting colt Apulia in the Group 2 Vase (with David as one of the part-owners) and flying two-year-old filly Bold Bastille in the Inglis Banner.

Originally published as ‘It was so cruel’: Hayes family’s heartbreak at Mr Brightside’s Cox Plate defeat