Scone trainer Cameron Crockett’s knowledge of Lonhro’s Queen goes beyond the Gooree-owned four-year-old mare in his stable and all the way back to one of the first horses he worked with at the Mudgee stud as a teenager.
Lonhro’s Queen, which will look for her fourth win in Saturday’s Highway Handicap at Rosehill, has Crockett dreaming big, and not least because of the memories he has of the filly’s dam, Queen Of The Hill.
“She was one of the first horses I broke in when dad was working at Gooree,” Crockett said. “I was just out of school, so it’s more than 20 years ago. She was a very good horse and probably should have won a group 1.
“She is from the same family as Northern Meteor. She’s a half-sister, and we had a lot to do with them and I know them very well.
“It’s amazing that this filly is the first one I got from Gooree. She has already got a Highway win and I think she can win another.”
Lonhro’s Queen storms to her Highway Handicap at Rosehill last month.Credit: Getty Images
Crockett had many years around Gooree and helped break in champions like Northern Meteor, Don Eduardo and Hallowed Crown. He had been promised a horse from the stud when he went out training on his own, but as the years went by he thought it wouldn’t happen until a phone call delivered Lonhro’s Queen to his Scone stable after she failed in three runs for John O’Shea.
“They rang and asked if I would take her and try to win a maiden with her,” Crockett said. “With the family she has behind her, she is very valuable.
“She has always shown that she is better than the horses I usually have in the stable.
“Usually, my horses get to a Highway and you think that’s it, but she feels untapped, so there is potential for much more from her.
“I know about the family. I have been working with them for a long time and she’s pretty good.
“Once we won the maiden, she won at Tamworth and then the Highway, and she is not finished yet.”
Lonhro’s Queen joined Crockett after the cut-off date for this year’s Kosciuszko but will be eligible for the Country Championships next year.
She is in a strong Highway where the unbeaten Intervarsity is the $2 favourite, and Point Basse ($5.50) returns trying to push Kosciuszko’s claims.
“The way she won the Highway the other day was very impressive, and she only goes up a half-kilogram for that win and has fitness on her side,” Crockett said.
“Whatever happens on Saturday, she will have a break and be back in time for the Country Championships.
“I think she is going to win better races the way she is improving and could be the best horse I have trained.”
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