Futurity Stakes 2025 Betting Tips - Can Mr Brightside overcome a wide draw?

Alex Marsh

Editor

Last updated: Thu 20 Feb 2025 04:46

Alex Marsh 20 Feb 2025

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Mr Brightside is favoured to defend his Futurity Stakes crown
Tom Kitten and Place Du Carrousel are each-way contenders
Futurity Stakes holds a prestigious spot in the Blue Diamond race day lineup

Expired

Mr Brightside is aiming for back-to-back Futurity Stakes wins. (Getty)

Contested over 1400m, the Futurity Stakes forms a major part of the prestigious Blue Diamond race day, as one of three Group 1's on this feature Melbourne program.

2025 Futurity Stakes Tips
2025 Futurity Stakes Field & Odds

A weight-for-age race that dates back to 1898, the Futurity Stakes has many of Australia's greatest gallopers on its honour roll, with Phar Lap, Ajax, Bernborough and Manikato some of the champions to have won this race.

Mr Brightside is favoured to defend his Futurity Stakes crown, with $2 his quote via Picklebet

2025 Futurity Stakes Tips

2025 Futurity Stakes Best Bet - Mr Brightside

He lost no admirers via a narrow first-up defeat in the CF Orr Stakes, where the eight-time Group 1 winner was reeled in by Another Wil, who had a softer run in transit via that February 8 clash.

The seven-year-old has a terrific second-up record (five wins and a second from seven attempts) and he won last year's Futurity Stakes second-up as a $1.50 favourite.

He's drifted out in the market since the barrier draw; however, Craig Williams has so often got it right on this popular veteran and Mr Brightside has shown tactical versatility throughout his career.

The track/trip stats are excellent, with five wins and two seconds over the Caulfield 1400m, and he covered ground when defeating I Wish I Win (second fav here) in the 2023 Memsie Stakes.

2025 Futurity Stakes Next Best Bet - Tom Kitten

Although his Group 1 win came over 2000m, this Godolphin galloper was successful first-up over this distance last campaign and he was gelded following his three-year-old season.

With 20 starts to his name, Tom Kitten is exposed enough on paper, but I still feel there's some upside with the son of Harry Angel and he has worked well in two lead-up trials ahead of this.

After contesting age restricted races, it's never easy for early season four-year-old's, especially those who have been on Derby paths and yet he was still competitive throughout his last campaign.

Tom Kitten was on equal weights with Ceolwulf in the Epsom and he followed that Group 1 placing up with a fourth in the King Charles III Stakes before a third-place finish in The Golden Eagle.

2025 Futurity Stakes Value Bet - Place Du Carrousel

It does look unconventional placement at 1400m for Place Du Carrousel, however, it's also common for Australian stables to get more sprint into the legs of a European import.

The French Group 1 winner does look forward enough for Saturday's return assignment, with a jump-out win and trial victory recorded, and Mark Zahra sticks from the most recent hit-out.

Her spring campaign was aborted after two performances, with the mare pulling up with genuine excuses after a return flop in the Underwood Stakes and she did start fav for that 1800m Group 1.

There isn't much genuine weight-for-age depth to this field and while there's obvious distance queries, any horse that can split Via Sistina and Buckaroo has to be respected on class.

Click here to view Place Du Carrousel's latest trial win

2025 Futurity Stakes Field & Odds

No	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Odds
1	Mr Brightside (NZ)	Ben, Will & JD Hayes	Craig Williams	11	59kg	$2
2	I Wish I Win (NZ)	Peter G Moody & Katherine Coleman	Jamie Melham	3	59kg	$4.50
3	Pericles	James Cummings	Blake Shinn	1	59kg	$10
4	Tom Kitten	James Cummings	Ben Melham	2	59kg	$10
5	Light Infantry Man (FR)	Ciaron Maher	Ethan Brown	5	59kg	$19
6	Pinstriped	Enver Jusufovic	Ben Allen	6	59kg	$26
7	Freedom Rally	Tony Gollan	Jye McNeil	4	59kg	$41
8	Super Smink	Daniel Morton	Billy Egan	7	57kg	$34
9	Place Du Carrousel (IRE)	Anthony & Sam Freedman	Mark Zahra	9	57kg	$26
10	Private Life	Chris Waller	Damian Lane	10	55.5kg	$19
11	Evaporate (NZ)	Ben, Will & JD Hayes	Michael Dee	8	55.5kg	$14