Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Copy Cat Queen, racing first-up after a five-month absence, ran a splendid trial for next Friday night’s $50,000 Sales Classic for three-year-old fillies when she scored a surprise victory in the HTA Taking You To New Heights Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The My Hard Copy filly was a $35.20 outsider who finished strongly from sixth at the bell to beat the $3 favourite Water Lou by just under four lengths, rating a smart 1.54.5 which set a track record for three-year-old fillies over 2130m.
The previous record was the 1.55 rated by Blue Chip Adda, who was trained and driven by Aiden De Campo when she ran home fast to beat Star Of Diamonds by a short half-head on June 5, 2020.
De Campo also is the trainer and driver of Copy Cat Queen, who was purchased by Vince Vinciullo for $10,000 at the 2022 Perth APG yearling sale. The filly, who is the 11TH foal out of the Jet Laag mare Luvya Maddy Lombo, has earned $29,831 from three wins and three placings from ten starts.
Luvya Maddy Lombo failed to win but was placed at nine of her 16 starts for stakes of $8444. Her claim to fame is that she produced Suave Stuey Lombo, who raced 110 times for 33 wins, 23 placings and $587,032, with his victories including the Group 1 Cordina Sprint at Menangle in November 2014, two Group 2 events and five Group 3 features.
De Campo admitted that he was somewhat surprised at Copy Cat Queen’s excellent performance, saying: “I’ve always had a lot of time for her, but her manners were really bad. However, they have been good leading up to tonight’s race.
“I was hoping she would run a good race before next week’s Sales Classic, and she showed her true ability. This is the first time she has actually been a racehorse in a race. As a two-year-old she used to pull and gallop, so we gave her time to mature. She has always had good speed.”
The polemarker More Sass ($4) set a brisk pace, with De Campo content to leave Copy Cat Queen in the one-out, two-back position in sixth place.
Water Lou began out wide at barrier seven and she raced four wide early before Shannon Suvaljko got her to the breeze. After a fast lead time of 35.8sec. the first three quarters whizzed by in 29.3sec., 28.5sec. and 28.7sec. before Water Lou burst to the front 400m from home.
Copy Cat Queen was eased off the pegs at the 550m and she sprinted fast at the 300m to get to the front 150m later before racing away to win easily, with a final 400m in 29.4sec.