''Obviously we would like to protect her record, but she has been beaten before and she could potentially be beaten ... [again] so we are not scared of defeat.''

Trinder wants to give Mystic Journey – who has won her past six starts including the Australian Guineas and the inaugural All-Star Mile – three or four runs before the Moonee Valley classic on October 26.

She could go to the Memsie Stakes at Caulfield next start, then the Makybe Diva Stakes at Flemington before taking in the Turnbull Stakes as her last start before her ultimate test.

But Trinder may leave the Memsie out, depending on her performance at Caulfield this weekend.

''We will see off the back of her race tomorrow whether we feel we need to run in the Memsie in a fortnight's time, or whether we can go a month between runs straight into the Makybe Diva," Trinder said on Friday.

''I am not keen to be travelling her every fortnight. I just question whether if we are travelling every fortnight it could get to the base of it.

''We will have more clarity tomorrow.''

Trinder, who rides the daughter of Tasmanian-based stallion Needs Further every day, believes she is at least as good as she was last autumn, when she beat colts and geldings and older fillies and mares in her past two starts.

''I just want to see her nice and full about herself in running, and her recovery go well," he said.

''She's done the work at home, but there's nothing like race-day pressure to see if there are any chinks in her fitness.

''If she pulls up as we would think she would she most likely won't run in the Memsie, but if I feel that she just needs another exposure so that she has four runs leading into the Cox Plate she will run in it.

''I definitely think she's come back on the same level as what she left in the autumn. I wouldn't dare suggest she's improved, [but] her trials have probably been better than in the past ... she's run good times.''

Trinder is set to base Mystic Journey at stables in Ballarat for the bulk of her trip to the mainland, and he said he may bring a number of other horses across to try to pick up prizemoney during the lucrative spring racing period.