A new era for a stable that is as decorated as any thoroughbred operation in Australia has arrived after Mr Brightside claimed the $3 million Doncaster Mile.
One of the outsiders in a capacity field, the lightly weighted Mr Brightside ($20) upstaged the country's best milers with a late flourish to give brothers Ben and JD Hayes their first Group One triumph.
Following in the footsteps of their revered grandfather Colin Hayes and their father David, Ben and JD are the latest custodians of the famed Lindsay Park training complex.
They have been in charge since David left last year for a second stint in the Hong Kong training ranks, slowly finding their way until one of their best horses gave them a dream result at Randwick on Saturday.
Mr Brightside emerged from the Doncaster pack under jockey Craig Williams to chase down I'm Thunderstruck ($6) for a half-length win.
Ice Bath ($21) was a long neck away third to finish in the placings for the second year in a row.
"Ben and I have inherited a great facility with great employees around us, a great client base and a lot of horses," JD told the Seven Network.
"So it was up to us and we really feel like when you put in the hard yards hopefully it all falls into place.
"A day like this just rewards everything."
Remarkably, Mr Brightside is the family's first Doncaster winner among more than 180 Group One victories that includes success on the international stage, most notably with Better Loosen Up in the 1990 Japan Cup.
And appropriately, the famous Hayes family racing colours used when Better Loosen Up stunned the world in Tokyo were the same worn by Williams on Mr Brightside.
As the Hayes brothers were cherishing their finest moment as a training partnership on the opening day of The Championships, Chris Waller could only marvel at the equine gift that is Nature Strip.
In all but confirming a northern hemisphere campaign, Nature Strip won his third TJ Smith Stakes, the principal sprint race of the Sydney autumn.
Fending off a challenge from long-time rival Eduardo, Nature Strip pushed his earnings towards $18 million and now sits second on the all-time Australian money list to Waller's incomparable racemare Winx.
Nature Strip is ranked the world's best sprinter and has nothing to prove but Waller says the time has arrived for the horse to showcase his talent overseas.
"If we can shoot over and see our friends at Royal Ascot it would be pretty special,'' Waller said.
Ambitions are not so lofty for Fireburn but a date with destiny awaits nevertheless after her win in the ATC Sires' Produce Stakes.
The Golden Slipper winner will be asked to stretch her brilliance out even further in distance when she chases Sydney's autumn two-year-old triple crown in the Champagne Stakes in a fortnight.
