Owner backing Journey to deliver

MYSTIC Journey’s owner Wayne Rosa cannot understand why some people have deserted his super mare following her past two defeats, insisting “the true believers” will be rewarded in Saturday’s $5 million Cox Plate.

Rosa is confident the mare they call “Betty” can reach another peak performance at the Valley this weekend, saying she has the perfect gate and the ideal lead-up to run the race of her life.

“As we know, some people jumped off [the bandwagon] very quickly, but you have got to go with the true believers,” Rosa said yesterday.

The four-year-old mare has won $3.5 million in prizemoney, with the bulk of it coming from a streak of seven consecutive wins, including the inaugural All-Star Mile and the Australian Guineas.

She was the early Cox Plate favourite and tightened more when she won P.B. Lawrence Stakes first-up.

But luckless defeats in the Makybe Diva Stakes and Turnbull Stakes saw her lose favouritism to Japanese mare Lys Gracieux. She now rates as a $7 second elect behind Lys Gracieux ($3.80).

“If she had got out at the right time, she would have won easily [in the Turnbull Stakes],” Rosa said. “If you look at the sectionals, she was held up until the 200m as the stewards said. But she still ran her last 600 in 33.3. She ran the last 200m quicker than Santa Ana Lane and Sunlight in the race before us. She finished off so well and if you look at the race she was well ahead.”

His confidence also comes from the barrier draw which saw him choose six for Mystic Journey — she will jump from five if there are no scratchings — and also from the formline around his mighty mare from the Turnbull Stakes.

“The barrier is perfect her,” he said. for