“When we sent her up to Rockhampton for The Archer we found she had an infection in a hock which required surgery to clean up.”
Heathcote believes Startantes is now showing all the signs she’s ready to reproduce her best form and his confidence has been boosted by jockey Ben Thompson.
“All the signs with her are positive and Ben Thompson is very confident she’s on the way back,” Heathcote said.
Startantes is part of Heathcote’s three-pronged attack on the Keith Noud and will be joined by stable mates Zoushack and Extremist.
Extremist is coming off a first-up second over 1000 metres at the Sunshine Coast on October 27 while Zoushack resumed with a second to the Tony Gollan-trained Osamu in a 1000 metre Open Handicap at Eagle Farm on October 14.