It didn’t come as easily as punters had expected but More Joyous’ tag as Australia’s best filly remains intact after a gripping AJC Surround (1400m) – G2 win on Saturday.
Sent out as the $1.22 favourite, More Joyous looked to be in cruise mode until the locally-trained Hurtle Myrtle drew level mid-stretch.
While it looked for a few strides that an upset was on the cards, More Joyous dug deep to fend off the challenge stretching the neck out for a narrow but deserved win.
The daughter of More Than Ready has now on six times from nine outings with earnings of close to $750,000.
Trainer Gai Waterhouse has indicated that the filly will be aimed at the $1 million AJC Doncaster Mile (1600m) at Randwick on April 10.
