Trots Centre: Elida out to prove she's Queen in Trotters Oaks

She’s already proven the princess of the three-year-old trotting ranks this year and now Queen Elida is out to show it wasn’t a fluke this Saturday night in Ballarat.

Brent Lilley’s daughter of Love You produced a scintillating finishing burst to win the Group 1 IRT Australia Need For Speed Princess Final in February, with the first four horses she beat in that race set to reoppose in the $60,000 Catanach’s Jewellers Victoria Trotters Oaks.

Lady In The Sky (Tayla Nicholson), Banglez (Emma Stewart), Sangreal (Maree Caldow) and She Sailz (AJ and BJ Tindale) were no match for Queen Elida in that event, but get their chance for elite level redemption just over seven months later.

“She’s got to be very hard to beat the way she is racing and come up this time,” Lilley told RSN on Thursday.

“We certainly wouldn’t be swapping her for anything else in the field.

“She is a lovely filly. She’s got good looks and she’s got a good motor to go with it.”

Queen Elida has won all three races this preparation in dominant style. She flew the gate at Geelong on September 4 and led all the way to score in the Nutrien Equine 3YO Trot before overcoming a second row draw two weeks later to land the Saddleworld Shepparton Trotters Oaks. The bay filly then worked to the front at Cranbourne on October 3 and strode clear of her rivals to take out the Aldebaran Park Starlet 3YO Trot.

Champion reinsman Chris Alford has partnered the filly in all but one of her 13 Australian starts since arriving from New Zealand late last year, and he’s back in the bike this Saturday night.

Queen Elida opened as the $4.80 second favourite behind Banglez ($1.85), but has been well supported and was into $2.60 on Thursday afternoon. Lady In The Sky ($7.50) and New South Wales raider Aldebaran Ursula (KerryAnn Morris, $9.50) are the other horses in single figures.

As well as Sangreal, who will be driven by Daryl Douglas, Caldow will prepare stablemate Tipsy Turvy with husband John in the sulky.

The Group 1 Victoria Trotters Oaks, won last year by Mattie Craven’s wonder filly Pink Galahs, will headline Saturday night’s meeting at Bray Raceway, where the Group 3 TAB Make Mine Cullen kicks off the Elizabeth Clarke Mares Triple Crown. A $10,000 bonus will be awarded to the successful owner of the horse who accumulates the highest number of points through the series, which also takes in the Angelique Club Pace at Geelong on October 23 and Benstud Queen Of The Pacific at Tabcorp Park Melton on October 30.

The points system is as follows: 1st - 8 points, 2nd - 5 points, 3rd - 3 points, 4th - 2 points and 5th - 1 point.

Nikkita Ross and Tim O’Connor will host the TrotsVision coverage alongside caller Dan Mielicki, before Rob Auber and Lachlan McIntosh cover Sunday’s big meeting which takes in the Community Bank Maryborough Gold Cup and TAB Maryborough Trotters Cup.

LISTEN TO LILLEY ON RSN'S GREEN LIGHT ON: