The Lindsay Park team is wrestling with the best way to get Mr Brightside to his spring grand final, the King Charles III Stakes (1600m) at Randwick on October 18.

The eight-year-old resumed with a strong second in the Group 1 Memsie Stakes (1600m) and is being considered for Saturday’s Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) at Flemington or the 7 Stakes (1600m) at Randwick a week later.

Ben Hayes said weather would influence the call, joking “wherever Mr Brightside goes, the rain stays away.”

Hayes admitted planning was difficult. “If we run in the Makybe Diva, it’s five weeks, if we run in the 7 Stakes, it’s four weeks,” he said. “It’s tricky, because if you’re not going up in trip, there’s no race that he can really go for, apart from the Feehan.”

While the Cox Plate is off the agenda, Mr Brightside is expected to return to Flemington for either the Champions Mile or Champions Stakes during Cup week.