Quality to beat lack of preparation quantity for Lonhro’s Queen

Trainer Cameron Crockett is excited to see what new addition Lonhro’s Queen can produce off a less than ideal build-up at her stable debut at Mudgee today.

The three-year-old Gooree filly came to Crockett from John O’Shea with three runs at the provincials earlier in the season under her belt and he believes she’s stacked with quality.

It’s been almost a month since her only official trial for the Scone trainer and the fact he hasn’t been able to give Lonhro’s Queen a second hit-out ahead of the Gooree Park Handicap (1200m) means she’s not completely wound up.

“I planned to go to the trials on Wild Card day (March 22) and they put the trials off, which was frustrating,” Crockett said. “So I nominated her for a Newcastle trial and she got balloted, so she jumped out on Wednesday.

“I reckon she’s about 85 per cent fit, but if she’s as good as I think she is it probably shouldn’t matter.

“There’s a couple of query runners in the field, like Starpoppy, who ran extremely well on the wrong part of the track at Muswellbrook and Brett Robb’s [Beaconsfield Joy] who has only had one start at 1400m. But they’re going to have to be good.”

In the trial on March 6, Lonhro’s Queen bumped into Gentileschi, who has since scored an impressive maiden win, and Crockett said reports from jockey Ashley Morgan after the trial were extremely positive.

“The encouraging thing was Ash rode her when John O’Shea had her and he rode her in the trial and said to me she felt like a different horse,” he said.

“But I definitely don’t have her screwed down. I’ve had horses slower than her turn up to country maidens and win needing the run.”