Tom Carberry will pack the float on Thursday morning the same way he does most other weeks.
Almost always, it’s before a trip to somewhere like Kilmore, St Arnaud, Avoca or Coleraine – all tracks he’s raced at in recent weeks – to saddle up a horse in a maiden or low-grade benchmark race.
He’s not sure if it’ll feel any different this Thursday, several hours before he saddles up his first Group 1 runner when emerging filly Strictly Business tackles the VRC Oaks at Flemington.
The Irishman who, alongside his wife Monique prepares a boutique stable of around 10 horses at Ballarat, will take on the might of Maher, Waller and Waterhouse in the time-honoured staying classic for fillies.
It’s a daunting task but one Carberry is excited for.
“For us, it’s excitement and anticipation,” Carberry said.
“It’s a bit different to going to Ballarat on a Tuesday so it is a pinch yourself moment for me, my wife Monique and Martin Falvey who bred the filly and his friends that are in her.
“It’s why you do it, for a chance to be a part of the spring carnival.”
“We watch it every year and enjoy it so to be a part of it with a live chance in a Group 1, it’s fantastic.”
“Races are races and you have to look at it that way because you’re taking on the top stables and the best horses.”
“But we’re there because the horse deserves her place so we’ll throw our hat in the ring and see how we go.”
“You just have to do your best, that’s all you can do.”
Strictly Business has emerged, rather quickly, from obscurity to be a genuine contender in Thursday’s $1 million race.
The daughter of Grunt won first-up over 1400m at Ballarat the day before the Cox Plate, then motored home from near-last to run second in the G2 Wakeful Stakes eight days later.
The Oaks, which will come at her fourth career start, will be her third run in 14 days.
The challenge is not lost on Carberry, although the filly has given him every reason to think she is capable of handling the busy workload.
“It’s a big ask at her third run in three weeks but she keeps doing what she needs to do to be there,” he said.
“We had her ready maybe three or four weeks before the Ballarat race but things didn’t eventuate, she had a little cough that delayed her return.”
“But she got over that and then Ballarat happened.”
“Things were tight but you can either forget about it or have a go and we just had a go.”
“She’s just had a lot of walking, trotting and cantering and she’s been great in the last few days. She’s been bouncing and she looks up for it.”
“They’re all doing the same thing, they’re all trying to get to the 2500m so they have to get that strong 2000m race into them to get there – we’ve done that now and we’ve come out the other side bright and perky.”
“She hasn’t left any feed and she’s sound as a bell.”
The end of 2500m poses a question for all fillies in the race, although Carberry is bullish that Strictly Business will have no issues with the extra 500m
By Grunt, she is out of the dam of a 2800m VRC St Leger placegetter and her closing sectionals in the Wakeful were the best in the race.
She is rated a $10 equal third favourite for the Oaks, behind the Jonathon Munz-owned and Danny O’Brien-trained Getta Good Feeling.
“I think she’ll definitely stay the trip strongly,” he said.
“She’s the second foal out of the mare – the first foal was Kicking King who was third in the (VRC) St Leger and second in the Tassie Derby.”
“He was a good stayer and she’s built in that way as well.”
