Rare standing start will kick off Queen Elida’s campaign

A rare appearance in a standing start event will kick-start Queen Elida’s (Love You) latest harness racing campaign and connections are confident the star trotting mare will safely handle the tapes in the TAB Australasian Trotting Championship this Saturday night (Sep. 2)

Brent Lilley’s five-year-old will be first-up since late June in the Group 2 feature at Melton, with regular driver Chris Alford to take the reins.

“(Lilley’s partner) Tracey (Cullen) is pretty confident she will go away pretty good… there’s only eight in it so wherever she is, she’s not going to be far off them,” Alford said.

“She’s pretty sensible and Tracey has been giving her a bit of practice at home. She reckons she will fly away.”

Queen Elida won her only standing start race in Australia at Ballarat by more than 15m back in November 2020, but was unplaced from one go behind the tapes in New Zealand at her second career outing.

The multiple Group 1 winner is on a path towards December’s Inter Dominion Trotting Championship in Queensland and won’t have an easy time of it this weekend. She will take on the talented pair of Ollivici (one) and Bullion Harry (five) – having their first start for the new training partnership of Chris Lang and Sonia Mahar – as well as John Justice’s top trotter Mufasa Metro, who hasn’t raced since March.

Mufasa Metro placed fourth – one spot behind Queen Elida – in the Victorian Inter Dominion Grand Final late last year.

After the Australasian Trotting Championship, Alford will fly out to the United States on Sunday to partner Aldebaran Zeus in the MGM Yonkers International Trot on September 9.

Meanwhile, the Aussie debut of top New Zealander Kango brings some added spice to Saturday night’s Mimosa Homes Minuteman Free For All.

Trainer Arna Donnelly flew to Victoria today and will make her first trip to the races at Melton this weekend.

Kango is yet to win at Group 1 level in his homeland, but beat Pembrook Playboy and Akuta to claim the Kaikoura Cup during October 2022 and defeated Self Assured and Old Town Road in the Roy Purdon Memorial in May.

He has not raced since a sixth placing in May’s Auckland Cup and has the wide back row draw to contend with over the 2240m trip this weekend.

Scott Ewen’s veteran Bulletproof Boy and Joe Pace’s last-start winner Justalittlesip will be well fancied off the front line, with the talented Helluva and District Attorney also first-up from a spell in the Minuteman.

There are eight races on Saturday night’s card from Melton, with the first to go at 5.54pm.

For complete race entries, click here.

by Tim O’Connor, for Harness Racing Victoria