Royalty to return to Melton with Elida ready to dazzle

Brent Lilley is tipping a “sharper” Queen Elida will emerge in Saturday night’s Lyn McPherson Memorial Breed For Speed Gold Series decider at Melton.

The Bolinda trainer is confident his girl will be back to her best after responding from a seventh placing in the Great Southern Star Final with a 1:57.5 victory in the series heat at Bendigo just 12 days later.

“She has come through her heat run really good and we are looking forward to Saturday night,” Lilley said.

The daughter of Love You finished third in last year’s Inter Dominion final in Queensland and has battled some issues since returning from the Sunshine State.

“She jarred up in her feet after Queensland on the track. We had a few issues with her feet, but we are pretty sure we are on track with that now,” Lilley said.

“It was just a little bit of a hiccup, and probably why her form dropped away a little bit. She was sharp in the heats and should be sharper again for the final.”

The 48-year-old trainer has ear-marked a number of mares’ races before an upcoming trip across the ditch for the TAB Trot slot race.

“The next few starts will be against mares only, which makes her life a bit easier,” he said.

“She has been the measuring stick amongst the mares for the last 12 to 18 months. We will just stick to the mares’ races until she goes across to New Zealand.”

The partnership between Lilley and champion reinsman Chris Alford has been one to savour, with the duo riding the highs and lows for all but two of her 56 Australian starts.

“She is special. She has got her quirks and all that, and we obviously think the world of her,” Lilley said.

“Her record is super and she never lets us down. She always tries her best and we love her to bits.

“She has her quirks, but once she is behind the mobile, she is all business.”

The six-year-old trotter has gate seven for Saturday night’s Gold Series Final, where she will start a warm favourite.

“We have drawn out wide. She doesn’t have to be in the early rush, but we will just leave it to Chris and I’m sure she can work into the race mid-way if she has to,” he said.

“If there is enough pace on, he can sit back and hopefully he can round them up. Chris will just see how the race will be run and work it out from there.”

Lilley will also prepare Aldebaran Keepa in the race, with Kiwi reinswoman Crystal Hackett booked to pilot from gate five.

The Chris Svanosio-trained-and-driven Lady Adelia (eight) and Alison Alford-prepared Sleepee (nine) are the back row runners in the $50,000 feature.

The Lyn McPherson Memorial Breed For Speed Gold Series Final is set to go at 8.18pm.