Robert Heathcote has learned to live with Fillydelphia's headstrong attitude.

Keeping Fillydelphia content and managing her niggling fetlock issues has been a challenge for Heathcote but he believes the mare is on target to crack the $500,000 prize money barrier in Saturday's Sunshine Coast Cup.

"She's in a good place mentally and I think that's the key with her because she can be difficult to deal with at times," he said.

"In trackwork she pulls hard and wants to give one hundred and ten per cent.

"For horses like her with suspect joints they certainly won't last long if we let them gallop at that speed on a regular basis so we have to seriously control the amount of work she does."

Heathcote gives much of the credit to Peter Spargo who is Fillydelphia's regular trackwork rider and is entrusted with maintaining the mare's equilibrium.

"Of all my riders, Peter is the only one who really knows her and can handle her," Heathcote said.

"She knows him and they work well together."

Fillydelphia is a clear-cut $2.70 favourite for the Sunshine Coast Cup following her narrow defeat in the Bernborough Handicap at Doomben on December 29 won by Alma's Fury.

"If she drew a barrier in that race I think she would've won and although she'll carry fifty nine kilos I'd probably have to concede she's earned it," Heathcote said.

"After the Bernborough she had a few days off to freshen up and her work on Tuesday was as good as I need it to be going into a feature race."

Beyond Saturday's assignment, Heathcote wants to keep Fillydelphia up to the mark without long breaks from training.

"I learned from experience last year when I gave her a good spell thinking I was going to have a pretty successful winter carnival with her but she never really came up," he said.

"This year what I want to do is find a race for her, then give her three weeks off, bring her back, another two to three weeks to get her ready and give her another race.

"That way I'll have her coming into the winter carnival ticking over, fit, healthy and in the right frame of mind."