Lindsay Park trainers Ben, Ben & Jd Hayes may have to wait a bit longer to capture a race that holds deep family significance.

The Group 3 CS Hayes Stakes (1400m) at Flemington on Saturday is named after their grandfather, Colin Hayes, a Hall of Fame trainer who founded the original Lindsay Park in South Australia and earned numerous trainers’ premierships in Melbourne and Adelaide.

Since the race was renamed in 2008, the Lindsay Park team, under David Hayes and later Ben Hayes in partnership with Tom Dabernig, has yet to win the race.

Tony McEvoy, a longtime employee at Lindsay Park, won the C S Hayes Stakes with Hey Doc in 2017, though he had since established his own training operation at Angaston.

Lindsay Park’s historic wins in the race date back to the 1990s when it was known as The Debonair, with horses like Zabeel, Mcbrave, and Rullene.

“It would be huge for the stable to win it,” Ben Hayes said. “It’s named after our grandfather, a legendary horse trainer, so it would mean a lot to the Hayes family.”

This year, Lindsay Park will be represented by Ndola, owned in partnership with the Devitt and Gordon families, long-time clients of the Hayes. However, Ndola has drawn the widest barrier, 16, in the 1400m capacity field.

The Hayes brothers hold high regard for Ndola, having considered him a potential Caulfield Guineas contender last preparation.

Despite a last-place finish at Sandown in his first-up run, where he was beaten by C S Hayes Stakes favourite Royal Insignia, Ben Hayes is confident of improvement on Saturday.

“He was underdone for his first run and didn’t have a smooth lead-up,” Hayes said. “He’s improved a lot since that race.”