Queen’s big day on track
Filly with ‘attitude’ set for first-up win
THE first two-year-old race of the season will be run in Hobart today, but of the nine final acceptors only five will go around.
Eight of the nine final acceptors are owned and bred by the state’s leading owners Paul and Elizabeth Geard, with the Cameron Thompson-trained Buzzard the odd one out.
But late yesterday four of the Geards’ youngsters were withdrawn, with two from the Spreyton stables of Team Wells and two from Stuart Gandy’s Brighton stables.
However the two stables should quinella the race based on trial form, with Gee Gee Queen Bee from Gandy’s yard likely to start favourite over Gee Gee Secondover, prepared at Brighton by Leon Wells.
Gandy is happy with how Gee Gee Queen Bee has performed in her two trials.
“Queen Bee won both her trials but the way she won her second trial over 700m you would think she only needs to take that into the race to be very hard to beat,” Gandy said. “They have to step up to 1000 metres and that can sometimes test the ones who do well over 700 metres but Queen Bee should handle the extra trip.
“We have to remember they are only two-year-olds going to the races for the first time and they are very fragile animals, but this filly has quite a bit of attitude and nothing seems to bother her.”
Wells was keen to talk up Gee Gee Secondover’s chances.
“I know Stuart’s filly was good in winning her trials and she went a second faster that Gee Gee Secondover but my bloke was nowhere near fully extended to win his trial,” Wells said.
There also will be great interest in the feature race on the card, the $25,000 Tony Carrick 3YO Vase. The unbeaten Mister Songman from the Royston Carr stable is the early favourite at $2.90, which some pundits believe is a luxury price, with talented filly Derasa next best at $3.80 and the well-performed Geegee Lanett the next best at $4.80. That trio stand out from the rest and one of them should emerge a winner.