Lady Invictus, a filly with a couple of city victories already to her name, is set to elevate her profile even further this Saturday at Randwick.
The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained speedster will be vying for a maiden Saturday success in the $160,000 Happy Retirement Lynne McLean BM72 3YO Handicap, run over 1300 metres.
This daughter of I Am Invincible, a $675,000 Inglis Premier yearling, finished third in her only prior start at Saturday level two runs back. This was sandwiched between two midweek city wins, and Bott is eager for her to conclude her three-year-old season with a Saturday victory.
“She’s done well this prep and she deserves that,” Bott said.
“It would be a good indication of her ability going forward.
“That Saturday placing was full of merit, so that gives us confidence stepping into this grade on Saturday that she can be competitive like she has been before.
“It was a nice win last start from her. She seems to be in good shape, and there’s more upside from her going forward.”
Lady Invictus’s third placing occurred over 1100 metres at Rosehill on June 27, finishing three-quarters of a length behind Lighthouse Lass. Before that, she broke her maiden by the same margin over the same distance at Warwick Farm. Her latest run saw her defeat Gatwick by a neck in a 1200m BM64 for three-year-olds at Canterbury.
Adam Hyeronimus was the jockey for that win, but Tim Clark is booked to ride from barrier nine this Saturday.
Lady Invictus, currently the $3.60 favourite, is one of three Randwick entries for Bott and Waterhouse. They also have Silver Slipper Stakes runner-up Eviction Notice competing in the 1100m two-year-old event that commences the day, looking for his first win.
Later in the day, the Toronado gelding Sly Boots will aim to secure the first win of his current campaign in the 1800m BM78 for male horses.
Sly Boots was beaten 5-1/2 lengths by Tazima last start, however, that was in BM88 grade on a Heavy 9 track. Bott is enthusiastic about the prospect of him performing on a better surface.
“The key will be the conditions, if he can get that better track it will be much more to his liking,” he commented.
“His first couple of runs, he didn’t have much luck with barriers and in running. Last start he got all the favours but couldn’t quite quicken on that ground, but he stuck on well and hopefully everything falls into place on Saturday because he is deserving of it.”
Randwick was rated a Soft 6 early Friday afternoon, with fine conditions predicted for both Friday and Saturday.
Rachel King will ride Sly Boots, a $7.50 chance, who also drew barrier nine.
Explore Australian betting sites to find the best racing betting markets for Saturday’s action.