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Heath Conners is eyeing one of Australia's most prestigious broodmare races this spring with South Australian Oaks winner Invest.
Photo by Racing and Sports
The four-year-old is being aimed at next month's Group 1 Myer Classic (1600m) following a permanent switch to Conners' Geelong stable after spending her formative years under Heath's father Clarry.
After four or five runs this campaign, starting with the Group 2 Blazer Stakes (1400m) at Flemington on Saturday, Invest will be tipped out for a summer spell before having one last campaign in the autumn. Retirement and the breeding barn then await the classy daughter of Dehere.
“You've got that Group 1 mares race [the Myer Classic] in several weeks time, then you've got a couple of 2000m races after that,” Conners said.
“Ideally she'll have two runs going into the mile race and she's going to be spot on.
“I'm not expecting anything great [on Saturday]. Every run she goes around is important but I do know she is only going to get better as we step her up as well.
“Three weeks ago before she trialled she had a big winter coat on her, three quarters of the coat's gone now. She galloped in between races at Geelong here last Friday, and she galloped sensationally.
“I haven't wound her up yet and I haven't pushed any buttons. Every run she'll just start switching on more and more.”
Back problems plagued Invest as a two-year-old and early three-year-old, but she eventually recovered and started oozing the talent the Conners' family always suspected she possessed.
A handful of solid races in Victoria preceded her fourth placing in the Group 3 Schweppervescence Stakes at Morphettville.
She then strung together back-to-back wins, the highlight of which was victory in the Group 1 South Australian Oaks.
“She'd injured her back at the end of the preparation before and we had to spend a lot of time with her to get her back right,” Conners said.
“I had an acupuncturist who every week or two weeks had to manipulate the back, she'd have to have it injected and things like that.
“It was a long process in the making and it took a few runs to get her going and to work through it and to get a bit of confidence as well.”