A timely return to form by Davcon has trainer Heath Conners bursting with confidence heading into Sunday's Listed Ballarat Cup.Davcon has been luckless in earlier runs this spring but looked set to win Saturday's Eclipse Stakes (1800m) at Sandown until Viking Hero swept past him in the closing stages to score by 1-1/2 lengths.Conners said much was made of Viking Hero's win and the run of third placegetter Niblick but Davcon's effort was also full of merit."They all wanted to talk about the first

A timely return to form by Davcon has trainer Heath Conners bursting with confidence heading into Sunday's Listed Ballarat Cup.

Davcon has been luckless in earlier runs this spring but looked set to win Saturday's Eclipse Stakes (1800m) at Sandown until Viking Hero swept past him in the closing stages to score by 1-1/2 lengths.

Conners said much was made of Viking Hero's win and the run of third placegetter Niblick but Davcon's effort was also full of merit.

"They all wanted to talk about the first and third horses after the race but I thought the run of my horse to finish second was super," Conners said.

"He led Niblick into the race and was on the worst part of track."

Conners said the Eclipse was all part of Davcon's long range plan to win the Ballarat Cup (2200m) after the gelding finished third to Itstheone in the feature a year ago.

"Last year he was three-deep the whole trip and hit the front at the top of the straight so the plan was to have another go," Conners said.

The Ballarat Cup has switched from a traditional Wednesday date and will be run four days later on Sunday.

Conners believes he has the timing right with six-year-old Davcon.

He said the only horse he fears is Viking Hero should trainer Mike Moroney choose that path for the four-year-old.

"He is the only one I would be worried about," Conners said.

Nominations for the $130,000 Ballarat Cup close on Tuesday.

Davcon has been a regular on the country Cups circuit for the past two years.

Notably he finished fourth in the 2009 Seymour Cup and sixth in the Sale Cup before last year's Ballarat Cup.

Conners said Davcon would have finished much closer than ninth in this year's Seymour Cup had he not been held up for a run and that he suffered a similar problem when beaten just over two lengths when ninth in the Kyneton Cup two starts ago.

Longer term, Conners is aiming Davcon at both the Hobart and Launceston Cups in February.

"We will keep him chirping along over summer and run him every three weeks before going to Tassie with him," Conners said.

Currently based at Caulfield, Conners will relocate his team to Geelong early next month after splitting from Aquanita Racing.

Conners said stable star Chasm, who was a gallant third to Wall Street in the Emirates Stakes (1600m), would return to Flemington for his next two starts in the Group Three Standish Handicap (1200m) on New Year's Day and Group One Newmarket Handicap (1200m) in March.