MOUNT FUJI DOUBLES HIS NUMBER OF WINS

By Graham Potter | Sunday, August 27, 2023

When Mount Fuji won at the Sunshine Coast on August 27 in a BM78 Handicap over 1300m for the Gillian Heinrich and Renita Beaton training partnership, it was the second win of the six-year-old’s career and it took his race earnings to $91 690.

It had been a long time between drinks for the chestnut, whose first win came shortly after joining the Gillian Heinrich stable back in late 2021 ... as it has been a long road for his various connections, and all credit to Heinrich and Beaton ... and jockey Mark Du Plessis ... for getting the best out of Mount Fuji on the day.

Mount Fuji started on the third line of betting at $5.50 with Better Lad at $3 and Spill The Secret at $5 ... and the betting proved to be a reliable guide in identifying the main chances as these three runners did fill the first three places.

Jumping from a wide draw (barrier 9), Mount Fuji was duly caught wide early, racing just worse than midfield, a little under six lengths off the lead over the first 350m of the race.

At that stage Du Plessis made the executive decision to push forward on Mount Fuji and Mount Fuji made ground up very quickly to find a more comfortable position in third place by the time the field reached the 800m mark, now sitting just two lengths off the leader.

Once there, Du Plessis was content to allow Mount Fuji to hold that position at a comfortable gallop, meaning that Mount Fuji was perfectly poised to strike when he straightened and prepared to set sail for home.

Du Plessis didn’t waste any time in asking Mount Fuji to quicken and the Heinrich / Beaton trained runner once again improved quickly to join the leading line and then go on with it, forging into a clearcut lead of his own with as much as 300m left to run.

Getting first run on his opposition was important as, after being at least three wide all of the way to the turn, there was always a chance that early effort could take its toll late but, by opening up what would ultimately turn out to be a winning advantage in the first half of the straight, Du Plessis had left his opposition chasing and created the buffer he needed.

While a wall of horses did close up on Mount Fuji over the concluding stages, Mount Fuji was brave and he stuck on well to double his number of wins.

Mount Fuji, who is by Snitzel out of a General Nediym mare Ichihara, a Group 2 winner, was originally purchased for a $2.8 million.

After having only four runs without a win over a troubled eighteen-month period, which included surgery to sort out a breathing problem, his owners decided enough was enough, and put him up for sale on the Inglis Digital On-Line Sale platform where Heinrich bought him for $75 000.

This win brought Mount Fuji within a little over $4000 of repaying the price Heinrich paid for him.

His original owners had no such luck, getting just a $20 850 return in prize-money, plus $75 000 when on-selling him, for their $2.8 million investment.

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