Melbourne’s pending heatwave hasn’t dented Te Akau’s confidence levels in their outstanding mare Imperatriz (I Am Invincible) ahead of her tilt at Saturday’s Gr.1 Newmarket Handicap.
A final decision on the timings for Flemington’s races will be made on Friday, with temperatures forecast to hit 38 degrees at the track the following day.
“There’s no concern really,” said Te Akau’s Melbourne-based assistant trainer Ben Gleeson.
“They’ve all got to deal with the heat themselves, every one of them. It’s a pretty cool week, it’s not like they’re facing the whole week of warm weather.
“I think if the race gets brought forward to 12:30 (or) one o’clock, we should be in and out of there in good time and it should just be a nice-enough day by that time to be running.
“I don’t think it will be an issue for anyone, really.”
Imperatriz is one of two runners for Te Akau in the Newmarket Handicap, as they’ll also be represented by another quality mare in Skew Wiff (NZ) (Savabeel).
Imperatriz is the $2.45 favourite for the famous sprint event with Sportsbet, while Skew Wiff is a $46 chance.
