Copy Cat Queen broke fresh ground at Gloucester Park on Friday night when she became the first mare to win the $50,000 Taste of WA Four-Year-Old Championship in the 16TH running of the group 3 feature event.
And now ace trainer-reinsman Aiden De Campo is setting his sights on the $200,000 Golden Nugget on November 7 when he hopes that the WA-bred Copy Cat Queen will become only the third mare to win the race in its 44-year history, following the successes of Countess Karla in 1999 and Libertybelle Midfrew in 2014.
For De Campo it is a case of him seeking to fulfil some unfinished business after he trained and drove Sorridere to a fast-finishing second to Mister Smartee in last year’s Golden Nugget after Sorridere had finished a half-head second to the favourite OK Boomer in the Four-Year-Old Championship the previous month.
Copy Cat Queen was the $2.90 favourite from the prized No. 1 barrier in Friday night’s 2130m event. A noted brilliant sit-sprinter, Copy Cat Queen was seen in a different role as the pacemaker.
She was beaten out by the No. 2 horse Im Lightning Banner, who got a length clear but was unable to cross Copy Cat Queen, who booted through on the inside. Alta Tribute ($10) got to the breeze after about 600m, and then Franco Motu ($10) assumed that position 200m later.
After a lead time of 36.6sec. and modest opening quarters of 30.3sec. and 30.2sec. Copy Cat Queen dashed over the final 400m sections in 28sec. and 27.7sec. to beat the $3 second fancy Justcallmemiki by a head, rating 1.55.4. Justcallmemiki began from the inside of the back line and trailed Copy Queen all the way before finally getting clear 120m from the post and finishing fast.
“The plan was to lead,” explained De Campo. “She had never led (all the way) before but from barrier one I thought I should have a crack (to lead) and she handled it all right, probably not at her brilliant best, but she beat a good group of boys, which is hard to do as a four-year-old mare.
“She has come along in leaps and bounds in this prep, and we will go for the Nugget and then the $150,000 Mares Classic. She beat all the four-year-olds tonight, so why shouldn’t we go again in the Nugget.
“The Norms Daughter Classic (a $100,000 event for mares) is on the same night as the Nugget which is worth $100,000 more than that race.
“She showed tonight that she can match it with the boys, and over the 2536m in the Nugget we can drive her to her normal pattern (as a sit-sprinter) where she has that lethal sprint. She’s not tested against the aged mares yet, but her sectionals are good enough (to give her a chance in the Mares Classic against the State’s top mares).”
