Saturday night’s Benstud Queen of the Pacific at Tabcorp Park Melton is shaping as one of the races of the season.
In-form mare Gumdrops (by Western Terror out of Awesome Powers) is shooting for a mares’ triple crown of sorts in the $100,000 Group 1 contest after victories in feature lead-up races the Make Mine Cullen and the Angelique Club Cup. She is a $5.50 chance with TAB.com.au from her barrier seven draw.
Trained by Smythes Creek’s Emma Stewart, who is fourth on the national trainers’ premiership with a phenomenal winning strike rate of 40.57 per cent for the season, Gumdrops has savaged the line to win at all three of her runs since joining the new stable.
DRIVER MARK PITT ON GUMDROPS' MAKE MINE CULLEN WIN& THE ANGELIQUE CLUB CUP WIN
Early fixed odds favourites for the 2760-metre Queen of the Pacific are John McCarthy-trained Cyclone Kate (by Mach Three out of Eyre To The Throne) and Dean Braun-trained Nike Franco (by McArdle out of Nearea Franco), both $3.50 from gates one and three respectively.
Champion mare Frith (by Four Starzzz Shark out of Jackie Kelly) is on the next line at $4.50, the winner of 39 of 57 starts to come out of gate 10 for the Cobbitty team of Belinda and Luke McCarthy.
Only one previous Queen of the Pacific winner will line up in the race this year, Gumdrops having won the race in 2014 when trained by Steve Zammit.
For the first time since 1999 the Queen of the Pacific will be run as a mobile-start event this year.
Lils Lady (by OK Bye out of Lady Lilly Denover) was the last mare to win the race from the rolling gate in ’99 when piloted by Jodi Quinlan.
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