David Payne has had more than 100 group 1 winners in South Africa and Australia in his 50 years of training and believes classy mare Montefilia ranks among the best horses he has had through his stables.
The four-time group 1 winner could be under saddle for a final time in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes on Saturday as she is set to be sold at the Inglis Chairmans’ Sale for broodmares next month.
Montefilia leaves Verry Elleegant in her wake in last year’s Ranvet Stakes.Credit:Getty
“She is clearly the best horse I have had in Australia,” Payne said. “She is just an athlete and she has got the temperament to match.
“She is the ideal racehorse. If I could ask for something more for her, it would have been to have a bit more of turn of foot.
“But she is a four-time group 1 winner, so she has been all right.
“She is a real stayer. You have seen that by winning a Metropolitan [2600m] but she had the speed to win at a mile as three-year-old and in a hard-run 2000m.
“But it is the right time to sell for the owner.”
Payne has been around long enough to know that to be forgotten is an advantage in any big race, especially with a talented horse like Montefilia.
He was quick to point out that there are 13 horses lining up in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, not just Anamoe and Dubai Honour.
“They are talking like there are only two horses going to Randwick,” Payne said. “It’s not a match race.
“They are obviously two outstanding horses, but they will need to be on their game on Saturday.
“Montefilia won the Ranvet Stakes last year and if it turns into a staying contest she will be coming hard at the end.
“It will be a truly run because I think the Japanese horse [Unicorn Lion] will make it a properly run 2000m test and she will love that, especially if the track gets to soft.”
The Newmarket-prepared Dubai Honour has taken over as favourite at $2.45 as punters rally to the English galloper with a liking for soft ground.
Australia’s best horse since Winx, Anamoe is out to $2.60 and the rest of the field above $10. Montefilia is rated a $17 chance.
Payne believes Montefilia should be going into the Queen Elizabeth a last-start winner if not for a slip at a crucial time in the Tancred Stakes, where she steamed down the outside to just miss running down Arapaho.
“You could see in the race, she just slipped and lost that length and momentum at the 500m mark,” Payne said. “It was when she was coming into the race, and she was good that she nearly won it anyway.
“I was worried she could have hurt her back in the incident, but she came out really well.
“If this is her farewell, she will have no excuses because she has been very good this week and I’m really happy with her. She is going to love a good tempo and she will keep them honest.”
Payne believes the owners are doing the right thing in selling her this season as a racing and breeding prospect as she has just reached full maturity. But he would love to see her in training for another year.
“That is up to whoever buys her. She is going to go to a good home because she is a very valuable mare, but I would love to have another crack at a Caulfield Cup with her,” Payne said. “I think 2400 is her best distance and she has run fourth twice in it.
“The first time she wasn’t ready for it and last year she just got lost in the field and had no luck.”
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