Gary Portelli concedes Queen Of Clubs probably isn’t sharp enough to match it with the best fillies over a sprint journey, but he is hoping she can make her mark once she gets out to a staying trip.
The three-year-old is on a path towards the Group 1 ATC Australian Oaks (2400m) in April, and Saturday’s Light Fingers Stakes (1200m) at Randwick is her first stepping stone towards that goal.
“We’re on an Oaks campaign,” Portelli said.
“Winning a stakes race is what we’re hoping to do, and I don’t think that’s going to come until she gets to 2000 metres.
“I don’t think she is sharp enough to win against these really good fillies like Apocalyptic, who is a really sharp horse. She will be hard to beat right up until the mile, but from there on, the gate opens up a bit more.”
A daughter of renowned sire of stayers Maurice, Queen Of Clubs was competitive in a brace of Princess Series races during the spring before pulling up with heart arrhythmia when unplaced in the Flight Stakes (1600m).
Her maiden win and sole black-type placing were both recorded on rain-affected ground and Portelli said any wet tracks over the autumn would be to his filly’s advantage.
“If we happen to get rain when we get to our grand final period, it would certainly help,” he said.
“She loves it wet and the autumn is often a wet time.”
Portelli also welcomes back Verona Rose in the Triscay Stakes (1200m) and while he would have preferred to kick her off over slightly further, he is delighted with how much she has strengthened since taking out the Inglis Bracelet (1600m) at Flemington in November.
While he is the first to concede she will need to have found “three or four lengths” to compete with the elite mares, he is liking what he’s seeing at home.
“It’s a different horse you’re going to see this weekend. She’s more powerful. She’s got more condition on her. She knows what she is here for now, and she never runs a bad race,” Portelli said.
“Whether she’s up to the real Group One horses, we will find out this campaign.
“She’s heading towards a Coolmore (Classic) if she can really get some form under her belt, and we’ll just try to earn as much prizemoney as we can in the process.”
Verona Rose has won two of her three starts first-up but Saturday will be her first time racing below 1300 metres.
