While anything Mountjoy achieves for the rest of her campaign will be a bonus, the Ballarat filly is set for a lucrative Stakes victory this Saturday in Adelaide.
The two-year-old, trained by Henry Dwyer, will compete in the $120,000 David Peacock Oaklands Plate (1400m) at Morphettville Parks.
Mountjoy was aimed at the $125,000 Elvstroem Classic (1300m) at Swan Hill earlier this month, where she secured a narrow but impressive win over Fontein Jewel. Dwyer stated that the opportunity for a Listed victory while the filly was in such good form was too good to ignore.
“The horse she beat at Swan Hill came out and won at Flemington the other day, so her form is good,” Dwyer said.
“She can definitely run a place, if not win, and she’s a well-bred filly that would be worth plenty if she could win over there.”
Mountjoy, a daughter of Street Boss and the Redoute’s Choice mare Lorne, was purchased by Dwyer for NZ$150,000 at last year’s Karaka Yearling Sale.
Initially, Dwyer harboured Karaka Millions ambitions for Mountjoy but a setback thwarted those plans. However, she could be heading to the same meeting next year if she performs well on Saturday.
“We’re going pretty deep into the winter with her running this week and I reckon she probably wants a decent break, so we might even try to get her over to New Zealand for the Karaka Millions three-year-old race,” he said.
“We wanted to get her there for the two-year-old race, but we might just be a year behind.”
Mountjoy is not Dwyer’s sole contender in the Oaklands Plate; And There You Go, a daughter of Hellbent who finished third on debut at Donald, will also travel to Adelaide.
“She surprised us a little bit running so well, it was an open-age maiden and she got home pretty well and nearly won,” Dwyer said.
“I think that’s more than enough to go against those two-year-olds over there, so it wouldn’t surprise if she was to run a placing.”
And There You Go drew gate four, the better of Dwyer’s pair, while Mountjoy will start from the widest alley in the 14-horse field.
Adelaide’s Price brothers have been engaged to ride Dwyer’s fillies, with Will Price set to partner Mountjoy and Ben Price on And There You Go.
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