Mitchell Beer hoping for Flemington Joy

Mitchell Beer is hoping the horse who played a starring role in launching his training career a year ago can return to winning ways when she runs at Flemington.

Beer began his training career in December last year when he formed a partnership with Max Hinton at Mornington, and it didn’t take long for Jacqui’s Joy to register Beer’s first city winner.

That came at Caulfield on Boxing Day and she added another city win a couple of weeks later at the same track to make it three victories from her first three starts for the team after being bought from New Zealand.

Jacqui’s Joy has not won since, but Beer is convinced the four-year-old has more metropolitan victories in her and is hoping one of them comes at Flemington on Saturday in the Beachside Handicap.

“We couldn’t have asked for much more from her,” Beer said.

“She won her first three and two in town, and was our first runner. She’s done an amazing job but I certainly don’t think we’ve seen the end of her.

“She’s certainly got some more metropolitan wins in her and looking at that field on Saturday she’s certainly a really good each-way chance and it won’t shock us to see her back in the winner’s stall.”

Beer was initially disappointed with Jacqui’s Joy’s first-up fifth in a race at Moonee Valley in late October but felt she was intimidated inside horses, and she now wears blinkers.

He was happy with her last-start third at Ballarat in a fillies and mares benchmark race over 1200m.

The mare steps to 1400m and Beer believes she is going as well as last summer.

Along with Jacqui’s Joy’s city wins, the team also won a Group Three race with Almighty Girl in autumn.

On Wednesday Lock And Load claimed a metropoltian win at Mornington.

“It’s been an incredible 12 months,” Beer said.

“To go out on my own and start a business was extremely daunting. My first goals and aspirations were just to get through the first 12 months with a small team of horses.

“But through the likes of her (Jacqui’s Joy) and Almighty Girl, I think we’ve had about 15 winners, probably four metropolitan winners including a Group Three winner.

“So it’s been a pretty fantastic 12 months and we’ve attracted some really nice horses off the back of that. So the next couple of years looks extremely bright.”