Having produced one of last season’s most significant Black Type surprises, the connections behind Queen Regent are eager for another chance to land a feature race at long odds.
The Blake Ryan-trained filly is slated to make her return this Saturday in the $200,000 Listed The Rosebud at Rosehill. This will be her first race since a dominant victory in the Woodlands Stakes at Scone in May.
At Scone, the daughter of Wild Ruler started at $151, with odds as high as $201 available earlier, and she is currently being offered at $51 in all-in markets for this week’s contest.
The Rosebud will be Queen Regent’s first outing as a three-year-old. Ryan acknowledges the challenge of competing against colts but stated that this is the level he must now target with the leading filly in his Hawkesbury stable.
“There’s nowhere to hide anymore – she’s a Black Type winner, so you’ve got to run in them,” Ryan said. “I’m confident that she’s improved and strengthened. Where that leaves her, we’ll find out Saturday.”
The Woodlands Stakes was only the second race start for Queen Regent. Her debut resulted in a fourth-place finish over 1000m at Hawkesbury just over a month prior.
She finished sixth in her only trial this preparation but was beaten by less than 1-1/2 lengths by Hostwin King, who is a potential rival on Saturday.
Ryan indicated he would have preferred to keep Queen Regent against her own sex for her first-up run. However, he chose to target the 1100m of The Rosebud rather than resuming at 1200m, suggesting the race will offer a better indication of her campaign direction.
“She’s only had the two starts, one at 1000 and one at 1100, but you come back into spring and all the fillies races kick off at 1200, whereas the colts get two cracks at 1100 – Saturday and the San Domenico (Stakes),” he explained. “I didn’t really want to go to 1200 first-up when I don’t know if she can get it. So, I thought we’ll go to The Rosebud and, if she measured up, then we’ll go three weeks into the Furious.”
The $300,000 Furious Stakes, a Group 2 race for fillies over 1200m, is scheduled for Randwick on September 5.
Queen Regent is one of 25 horses entered for The Rosebud. Potential challengers include the highly-touted colt Central Europe from Chris Waller’s stable, as well as Blue Door and Castillo King, both of whom have won their only start. Chilly Girl, trained by Ryan’s father Gerald and his training partner Sterling Alexiou, is also in the mix.
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