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Craig Williams Confident as Mr Brightside Eyes 2026 Memsie Stakes Success

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Craig Williams understands that his memorable partnership with Mr Brightside is destined to conclude at some stage, but he is relishing the prospect of a sixth Spring Carnival campaign with the gelding.

The champion jockey is scheduled to reunite with the nine-year-old, prepared by the training partnership of Ben, Will, and JD Hayes, for this Saturday’s $750,000 Group 1 Memsie Stakes at Caulfield.

This 1400-metre weight-for-age contest is a race that Williams and Mr Brightside conquered together in 2023, and they have also secured the runner-up position for the last two years.

Saturday’s race will mark the 45th time Williams has ridden the son of Bullbars, a horse on whom he has achieved 18 victories. These include the Memsie Stakes, a hat-trick of Makybe Diva Stakes wins, two Futurity Stakes, a Doncaster Mile, and an Orr Stakes, all at the highest level.

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“I’ve been lucky to ride 90 Group 1 winners in my career, and I’ve ridden some phenomenal horses, but I’ve won more Group 1 races on him than any other horse.

“That just tells you what he means to me.

“The other part that makes it so special is that I was part of his development. I won his maiden on him and was part of his placement and his development to be that horse.

“He didn’t just step out and become a Group 1 horse.

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“The (Hayes) boys have just managed him so well and I’m looking forward to him being back at the racetrack.”

Following a track gallop at Sandown last Saturday where Café Millenium finished ahead of him, some suggested that the end of his racing career might be imminent. However, Williams and the Hayes brothers were pleased with the horse’s efforts.

Similar concerns were voiced before last year’s Memsie Stakes after a seemingly subdued final jumpout. Nevertheless, Mr Brightside rebounded to finish ahead of all bar Treasurethe Moment in Victoria’s first Group 1 race of the season, followed by a third consecutive Makybe Diva Stakes triumph.

Williams pointed to the fact that Mr Brightside has not raced since his fifth placing in the Champions Mile at Flemington last November, to bolster his confidence that the horse is well-prepared.

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“My job is to ride him on raceday, in trials and a couple of gallops and he’s never been an impressive worker,” Williams said. “He has worked better before, but he’s never been what you would say is an impressive worker and he has had a little bit longer layoff this time. He seems like he’s going really well.”

Mr Brightside is aiming to join an elite group as the 12th multiple winner of the Memsie Stakes. He could also become only the second horse to achieve this feat in non-consecutive years, with Sir Boom having previously won in 1996 and 1999.

Last year’s Memsie Stakes featured seven individual Group 1 winners, and this year’s renewal presents a similarly competitive field. Among the 17 entries are Treasurethe Moment, Jimmysstar, Autumn Boy, Beiwacht, and Cosmic Crusader, all Group 1 winners, along with 12 other elite-level contenders.

With the Memsie Stakes fast approaching, exploring Australian betting sites is recommended for the latest racing odds.

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Wyndham Clark’s meteoric turnaround has 1 main club behind it

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After his latest victory — his third in the last four months — Wyndham Clark is now firmly in the race for the PGA Tour Player of the Year award, and it all goes back to his putting.

Clark can easily attribute his rapid career turnaround in the second half of this season to his switch to Ping’s Scottsdale TEC Ally Blue Onset CB putter.

At the Valspar Championship in March, Wyndham Clark was lost on the putting greens. He was 147th in SG: Putting on the PGA Tour and ranked 85th in the FedEx Cup after a missed cut.

That week, he used a putter that he had literally purchased from his home club’s pro shop and lost more than half-a-shot per round on the greens.

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But at the following event in Houston, Clark first found Ping’s then-unreleased Scottsdale TEC Ally Blue Onset putter. The Scottsdale TEC features a soft, but responsive PEBAX insert that’s proven very popular among pros. Tony Finau has used one since February while Harris English recently switched to a Scottsdale TEC putter in Memphis.

The putter also has a unique white top with Ping’s EyeQ alignment technology, which is aimed at keeping the eye still, which Ping’s research leads to better strokes.

Lastly, the Ally Blue Onset model Clark picked up utilizes a shaft axis that is in front of the center of gravity of the putter, which Ping says leads to a more stable and consistent stroke.

Clark used the standard-length putter for two events before switching to the 38-inch counterbalanced version with a 17g tip weight and 13g of lead tape on the sole. The idea was to make the putter more like his Jailbird, which he used during his first three PGA Tour titles and the 2023 U.S. Open.

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Since then, Clark has won three events, including this week and his second U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. He’s also catapulted from one of the worst putters on the Tour to now one of the best. He led the field in the category at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, where he shot 30 under and won, and at the Travelers Championship the week after the U.S. Open. He’s now up to 16th on the PGA Tour in SG: Putting.

Clark also made history, signing a putter-only endorsement contract with Ping just before his U.S. Open victory. He became the first player in Ping’s 50-plus years of sponsoring Tour players to sign a putter-only contract.

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ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA TOUR Superstore

A collage of four close-up photos shows a white golf putter from different angles, including the face, top, grip with Super Stroke branding, and a top-down view on green grass—similar to those seen in Wyndham Clark WITB features.

Jack Hirsh/GOLF

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Putter: Ping Scottsdale TEC Ally Blue Onset CB
Loft: 3˚
Lie: 70˚
Length: 38″
Headweight: 400g
Insert: PEBAX
Grip: SuperStroke Tour 3.0 17″

Want to overhaul your bag for 2026? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

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Shedeur Sanders gets more bad news from Todd Monken after Browns name Deshaun Watson QB1

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The Cleveland Browns have finally made their QB1 decision after weeks of speculation — and unfortunately for Shedeur Sanders, it does not involve him.

On Monday, head coach Todd Monken announced during media availability that Deshaun Watson would start for the team in the Week 1 game at the Jacksonville Jaguars. He said:

“I took in the full body of work over the course of the offseason to training camp to the games, the joint practice, and ultimately felt like to start the season on the road, Deshaun gave us the best chance to move the ball and score points.

“I felt that way going into the last game, but wasn’t sure. And after we talked as a staff and we re-looked at everything, we’re going to go that direction.”

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#Browns have named Deshaun Watson their starting quarterback over Shedeur Sanders, league sources say.

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Watson had split reps with Sanders during the Browns’ first two preseason games, both losses. Over those two games, Watson had 16 completions for 162 yards and an interception, and he was loudly booed by the home crowd during his reappearance at Huntington Bank Field, which he criticized during his post-game press conference.

Monken, however, reiterated that that negative reaction “absolutely” did not factor into his decision:

“Ultimately, the fans want us to win. That’s our job as coaches, why we’re hired to try and put the best product on the field. And when we don’t, then I understand their frustration. But ultimately they don’t decide who plays.”


ALSO READ: Browns HC Todd Monken reveals Shedeur Sanders’ reaction to Deshaun Watson getting QB1 job

ALSO READ: “CLEARLY above Todd Monken”: Former LB drops major conspiracy behind Browns’ Deshaun Watson decision despite Shedeur Sanders’ performance

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Mina Kimes rips Browns for naming Deshaun Watson QB1 over Shedeur Sanders

Fans have not been the only ones unhappy with the Browns’ choice of Deshaun Watson over Shedeur Sanders, however.

In a video posted to Bluesky, ESPN host Mina Kimes ripped the organization for continuing to back a player who, sexual assault allegations aside, has proven to be mostly terrible when he does play — to the detriment of the fanbase:

“The organization, in making this decision, has proven that despite the fact that they have one of the most loyal fanbases in sports, they are not aligned with their fans. They are aligned with their quarterback. Because, like what he said earlier this week, they simply do not care.”

The Browns still have one more preseason game to play — at home against the New England Patriots, with kickoff at 8 p.m. ET. Neither Sanders nor Watson will play — Dillon Gabriel and rookie Taylen Green will split snaps as they dispute the third-stringer position.