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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 on Sunday.
The three-year-old Gooree filly came to Cameron Crockett from John O'Shea with three runs at the provincials earlier in the season under her belt and he said 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, $1.65 with TAB on Saturday, a second going into the Gooree Park Handicap (1200m) means she's not completely wound up.
"I planned to go to the trials on Wild Card day (22 March) and they put the trials off which was frustrating so I nominated her for a Newcastle trial and she got balloted so she jumped out on Wednesday,'' Crockett said.
"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 who has only had one start at 1400m.
"But they're going to have to be good."
In that trial on March 6 she 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."
Goonoo resurfaces in the Ronnie & Family Barber Shop Handicap (1100m) after an unscheduled stint in the paddock following a close third at Mudgee on Championships day last month.
Crockett said the lightly raced gelding returned a temperature a day after that run, which he said explains why it took some time for him to recover post-race.
"We gave him 10 days off in the paddock and I've never seen him look as good as he does,'' he said.
"He's turning up a bit underdone but it's only 1100m and it's the best he's ever looked in his condition."
It wasn't the plan to lead on Goonoo in his last start, Crockett is adamant he's better ridden off the pace and hopes he can find a striking position from off the pace.
"It might have been my fault, I told Aaron (Bullock) to put him in the box seat and they went really slow,'' he said.
"He led, that's how slow they went and I don't think he's a leader. They do tend to pile the pace on at Mudgee.
"It used to be a very fair track but it seems to be biased one way or the other at the moment so if they can make ground he'd be the horse to beat. He's a pretty handy horse."
Cameron Crockett on Call Me Terry (race 4): "I don't think you'll see the best of him until next prep. He'll probably take a bit of racing to find his rhythm, but if he's not a good horse I'd be surprised."
On Imperioness (race 7): "She's training as good as she's ever trained but she will probably need the run. I think she will run well but probably need it and be worth following second up."
