Spring hopefuls step out in Victoria’s first Group 2 WFA race of the season
Mr Brightside reinjected some class onto the P B Lawrence Stakes honour roll the past two years.
The 1400-metre Group 2 was the unofficial launch of the weight-for-age feature-race season, counting Lord, Tobin Bronze, Tauto, Sydeston, Mahogany and Apache Cat as winners, but was also the launching pad to spring stardom for many others.
But its influence on the spring majors had waned a little in recent years.
The most recent winner of one of the spring's 'Big 3' to come through the Lawrence Stakes was 2016 Caulfield Cup winner Jameka, while it hasn't produced a Melbourne Cup winner since Subzero 32 years ago and Maldivian (2008) was the last Cox Plate winner to come through it.
Mr Brightside narrowly failed to alter that last year, beaten a pimple by Romantic Warrior in the Moonee Valley feature.
He ran a Timeform rating of 121 to win last year's Lawrence, a mark bettered only by Hartnell – who ran 122 in 2017 – in a Lawrence Stakes since 2011.
None of this year's field can boast a 121 performance, with 119-raters Pericles and Gentleman Roy the owners of the highest peak Timeform rating of those engaged in this year's race, followed by Munhamek and Aegon– both 118 – and last year's runner-up Pinstriped (117).
Munhamek ran his peak rating at his most recent outing, in the Listed Winter Championship Final, and will be lining up for the 14th run of a campaign that stretches back to Derby Day last year.
His is similar to the preparation of 2003 winner Super Elegant, who won what was then called the J J Liston Stakes at the 13th start of a campaign that began the previous year.
Sierra Sue won the 2021 Lawrence at her sixth run in, but 14 of the other 19 winners since Super Elegant were first-up with the other five all having their second run of the preparation.
Pericles, Aegon and Pinstriped are all resuming this year, along with Buffalo River and Bankers Choice, while Honey Girl is the lone second-upper.
James Cummings, who won with Hartnell and Savatiano (2020) and is striving to join three-time winner Brian Courtney as the most successful trainer in the history of the 75-year-old race, will be represented by Pericles, the $2.90 favourite.
Mr Brightside was favourite in both of his wins, taking to eight the number of favourites to have scored since the previous winner at better than $10, which was $21 chance Pompeii Ruler in 2006.
