It’s not like Lloyd Kennewell to take a back seat, especially with a horse who appears above-average, but he has been largely in the background for Invincible Woman’s Magic Millions campaign.
The Cranbourne horseman has left it to Lucy Yeomans to represent the stable with the speedy daughter of I Am Invincible, who is favourite for Saturday’s $3 million Magic Millions 2YO Classic.
Yeomans has been Kennewell’s co-trainer since the start of last season and is a part-owner of Invincible Woman, who was one of the first horses they bought together at last year’s Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
Invincible Woman was bought in partnership with Lizzie Jelfs’ Race With Lizzie syndicate, which means she is racing for the $500,000 Women In Racing bonus in addition to the $1,74m winner’s purse and Yeomans excited to be a key part of it, even if a reluctant spokesperson.
“Being an all-female group, I’m getting a fair bit of attention, which, if you know me, I’d rather be behind the scenes,” Yeomans said.
“It’s a credit to Lloyd, Lizzie, all the women (involved) and the team at home.
“Being a female trainer and having worked my way up in a male dominated industry, I think it’s important that women are supported and it’s great to be here with a female owned horse with the bonus provided.”
The Women In Racing bonus is available to horses with all-female ownership groups.
Invincible Woman, who is out of the Big Brown mare Showcase, a granddaughter of Group 1 Spectrum, was a $250,000 buy out of the Widden Stud draft.
Her only racetrack appearance to date realised a 2-3/4-length win in the Magic Millions Victorian Classic at Caulfield on December 14, after which she was sent to Queensland and on New Year’s Eve was a soft winner of an 800m trial at the Gold Coast.
Invincible Woman is striving to become not only the first horse to win the Magic Millions 2YO Classic off a final led-up run in Victoria since the abandonment of gender-based divisions of the race in 1992, but also the first to win it at just their second start.
“Lucky I’m not a believer in stats,” Yeomans, who joined Kennewell after a long stint with Ciaron Maher, said.
“Coming from Melbourne apparently is not likely and a horse has never won their second start, but she’s in very good order,” he said.
“We brought her up here very early, we trialled her up here going the Queensland way on the Gold Coast track and she’s thriving.
“She was broken in up here, so she’s very used to going Queensland way.
“Whether she beat much in the trial, possibly not, but she ran a quicker time than the three-year-old trial, so her time was good and she pulled up well, so we’re very happy.”
Invincible Woman is one of three horses in this year’s who have raced just once with debut winners Vein Girl and Space Rider, the first emergency, also chasing a slice of history.
