Dwyer plots Karaka Millions bid with Mountjoy
Henry Dwyer is eyeing a return to New Zealand with promising filly Mountjoy (Street Boss), who has next January's $1.5 million Karaka Millions 3YO Classic (1600m) at Ellerslie firmly on her radar.
The daughter of Street Boss made an encouraging return to racing at Ballarat on Wednesday, narrowly going down to Pocketfullofcash (Rich Enuff) in a driving finish.
While disappointed to miss out on victory, Dwyer was delighted with the filly's first-up performance, which has strengthened his confidence in targeting the lucrative Karaka feature.
"There's still some water to go under the bridge, but because she won the Elvstroem, she's quite high up in the order of entry," Dwyer said.
"The race is obviously restricted to horses from the Karaka sale, and the mile looks like it will suit her."
Mountjoy showed plenty of promise during her first preparation, placing on debut before recording a determined victory in the Elvstroem Classic (1300m) at Swan Hill in May.
However, her campaign came to an end following a disappointing performance at Morphettville, where she pulled up sore and was subsequently spelled.
"We probably should have gone to the paddock after the Elvstroem – she was a bit over the top at Morphettville, and it was a big ask for a two-year-old filly to travel at her third start," Dwyer said.
"We didn't see the best of her there, and today's run has probably proven that. She's a nice filly, she tries hard, and apart from that Adelaide run she's been very consistent.
"I think there's bigger things in store."
Dwyer, who enjoyed success in New Zealand earlier this year when winning the Auckland Cup with Paradise Storm (Masked Marvel), purchased Mountjoy for $150,000 at the 2025 New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale at Karaka.
The filly initially remained in New Zealand with Cambridge trainer Tony Pike, with connections hoping to target the $1 million Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m).
However, an injury in the lead-up ruled out that assignment, prompting Dwyer to bring her across to his Ballarat stable.
"We left her over there with Tony when we bought her, we wanted to get her going for the two-year-old race," Dwyer said.
"She actually hurt herself in the lead-up, but she was going really well, so Tony was disappointed when we said we were bringing her to Australia."
With a successful return to racing now behind her, Mountjoy will look to build on Wednesday's performance as Dwyer works towards a potential Karaka Millions appearance in January.
