Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Lion Queen, who has lived in the shadow of her illustrious stablemate Water Lou since they clashed on debut at Pinjarra on January 23, 2023, is on the march and is showing all the signs of developing into a prime candidate in the rich feature events for mares in November.
Henley Brook trainer Mike Reed has Lion Queen progressing nicely, and the four-year-old gave a sample of her class at Gloucester Park on Friday night when she crushed her rivals in the $25,000 Go One Better With Westral Pace over 2130m.
She was a $5.30 chance from the awkward draw at No. 6 against highly-regarded four-year-old geldings Alta Tribute ($1.55) and Vegas Strip ($6).
Reputations counted for nothing as Lion Queen, driven expertly by Shannon Suvaljko, won by ten metres from Alta Tribute, rating a slick 1.54 with the 400m sections of the final mile whizzing by in 29.5sec., 29.1sec., 28sec. and 28.3sec. Vegas Strip raced at the rear and finished eighth.
Lion Queen raced three wide early before Suvaljko eased her into the one-out, one-back position behind the breeze horse Stormyskyes ($20). Alta Tribute was restrained back to last from the outside barrier at No. 9, and when that pacer surged forward, three wide, approaching the bell, Suvaljko pulled Lion Queen out into a three-wide position ahead of Alta Tribute.
Lion Queen swept to the front at the 450m and careered away to win effortlessly. Suvaljko revealed that he had been contemplating leading with Lion Queen, but he changed his mind shortly before the start.
“I watched Stormyskyes in the preliminary when he was sprinted up, and I thought he was likely to lead (from barrier three), so I was happy to race with a sit,” said Suvaljko.
Reed said that Lion Queen would keep racing through the classes, leading up to the Norms Daughter Classic and the Mares Classic in November.
He explained that Lion Queen had been raced sparingly because she had cut a sheath of a tendon as a two-year-old and was out of action for 16 months.
Before that injury, Lion Queen had raced three times for a third placing behind Water Lou on debut at Pinjarra, followed by wins at Pinjarra and Gloucester Park. Water Lou led when both fillies were on debut, with Lion Queen, driven by Colin Brown finishing third after racing in the breeze.
“Colin said that Water Lou would never beat Lion Queen again,” said Reed. “Lion Queen was the favourite ahead of Water Lou for the $100,000 Sales Classic for two-year-olds in March 2023, but she had to be scratched after her tendon injury, and Water Lou was the favourite who led and won the classic.”
Water Lou has excelled on the track and now has a splendid record of 21 wins and five placings for stakes of $434,289 from 33 starts, while Lion Queen has had only 16 starts for seven wins, six placings and $93,340.