Patience is underused in racing’s quest for a dollar, but its true value for trainer David Payne with Montefilia could be a Melbourne Cup win. The former South African champion trainer has won more than 100 group 1 races but has never coveted a race like he does the Melbourne Cup.
“When I came over here, and I’d heard of the Melbourne Cup, but once I saw it I’ve wanted to win it,” said Payne, who has been in Australia for 20 years.
David Payne has Montefilia ins fantastic shape in the quest for the Melbourne Cup at Flemington on Tuesday.Credit:Justin McManus
He has been patient waiting for the right horse and once Montefilia arrived he showed more restraint to bring her to Flemington in her best physical state on Tuesday.
“It has been two years to get here,” Payne said. “I said to the owners after the Caulfield Cup last year, we will win the Melbourne Cup next year. I could have kept going, but she wasn’t ready and we get here with stronger more mature mare ready for the two miles.”
Montefilia has four group 1 victories – more than any other runner in the Melbourne Cup and more at the top level than six of her rivals have won in total, including favourite Deauville Legend.
She has a weight-for-age win over Verry Elleegant in the Ranvet Stakes, which showed the speed in her as well as the natural stamina she has, which delivered a Metropolitan win over 2400m last year.
It has jockey Jason Collett confident if he can give her an easy run, she will be there at the end.
“With her in is a case having her in the right spot because I know how sharp her sprint is and I know she can hold it for longer than most,” Collett said.
Payne has tuned Montefilia up with three runs and she has improved with each. She was fourth in the George Main Stakes to Anamoe, where she just kept finding the line at a mile.
In the Hill Stakes, Montefilia would run third as favourite when she didn’t handle the heavy track, before being an eye-catching fourth in the Caulfield Cup with a final surge that was the best Cup audition this year.
It will come down to a contest between the best Australian stayer and upstart English stayer Deauville Legend, which is untapped and is having only his eighth start. His European summer was capped by winning the Great Voltiguer at York and he comes on the upwards spiral.
