5. Mr Brightside wins the $5 million Sharp EIT All-Star Mile, later returns a runner-up in the Ladbrokes Cox Plate Coming in to the 2023 Sharp EIT All-Star Mile, the title for Australia’s Best Miler was still very much up for grabs, with Weight For Age beasts Alligator Blood, I’m Thunderstruck and Mr Brightside all battling it out in style. On a scorching day at The Valley, thankfully relieved by some welcome cloud cover, Lindsay Park’s Mr Brightside saluted in the Mile, donning the colours made famous by 1990 W.S. Cox Plate winner Better Loosen Up. His performances later that Autumn and into the Spring confirmed he is indeed Australia’s best 1600-metre horse, winning his second Doncaster Mile as well as the Makybe Diva Stakes. Mr Brightside went on to run 2nd in the Ladbrokes Cox Plate, where it took a champion from Hong Kong to defeat him. His incredible record at The Valley now reads 5: 3-1-0, the most successful track of his career to date. 4. Ladbrokes Friday Night Lights Season Launch the best yet on AFL Grand Final Eve The Valley was buzzing on AFL Grand Final Eve this year as we launched the Ladbrokes Friday Night Lights Season with a bang. In fact, many called it the best night of racing they’d ever been to, including one winning trainer from the west. That trainer was Simon Miller, who trained Amelia’s Jewel to victory in the Ladbrokes Stocks Stakes. Thirty minutes later, another world-class mare Imperatriz took out the Group 1 Charter Keck Cramer Moir Stakes. But it was the action off the track that stood this night apart from the rest, as popular jockey and part-time DJ Ben Allen spun the decks on the front lawn and kept the crowd entertained all night. The after party continued well after the last, and had it been allowed to, would have gone even longer.
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