Clarry Conners will trial a gear change on Invest when she has her final Queensland Oaks leadup at Doomben on Saturday.
A daughter of 2003 Flight Stakes winner Unearthly, Invest will make her Brisbane debut in the Group Three Roses (2000m).
The filly broke a five-year Group One drought for Conners when she wore winkers in her Australasian Oaks victory at Morphettville last month.
Conners, who is aiming Invest at the Group One Queensland Oaks (2400m) at Eagle Farm on June 2, has decided to take the winkers off on Saturday to help her settle.
“She’s had the winkers on for her last three starts but they’re coming off,” Conners said.
“She pulled too hard with them on in Adelaide and I’m hoping she’ll relax more without them.”
Invest was sent to the Geelong stables of Conners’ son Heath for the start of the Melbourne autumn carnival with a view towards Adelaide and the Australasian Oaks.
“I thought the AJC Oaks would be too hard so I sent her to Heath at Geelong,” Conners said.
“The best filly (Streama) won the AJC Oaks and it turned out to be a small field but we did the right thing by taking the easier option in Adelaide.
“It was always our plan if things went right in the Australasian Oaks to send her up to Queensland.”
Conners has won the Queensland Oaks twice with Allow in 2006 and Zagalia in 2003 but is yet to win The Roses.
“I think this filly is better than both of my Oaks winners,” Conners said.
“I’ve only had a couple of runners in The Roses and I’ve never won it.”
Allow finished an unlucky fourth to the Roger James-trained Gaze in The Roses before winning the Queensland Oaks.
Allow subsequently finished seventh to Ice Chariot in the Queensland Derby but was retired to stud following three further starts in the spring.
Zagalia raced in the Cox Plate and Caulfield and Melbourne Cups in her Oaks winning year but Conners is uncertain if Invest will be a spring contender.
“She’s not real big and has taken a long time to develop,” he said.
“We’ll get the winter out of the way and give her a nice spell before deciding whether she’ll go to Melbourne for the spring.”
Invest is raced by the Kelly family’s Newhaven Park Stud, the owners of two of Conners’ four Golden Slipper winners – Burst (1992) and Prowl (1998).
Conner’s last Group One win before Invest was with Apercu who won the TJ Smith at Eagle Farm in 2007.
