Hello Queen Back With A Bang
Having only started her racing career in December, Hello Queen quickly showed some top form in the first few months of 2023. Having one below par effort resulted in a break for the filly, she returned to the track after 3 months off. Making her turf debut, Hello Queen dominated the 6f Sky Bet Go-Racing-In-Yorkshire Summer Festival Handicap at Doncaster.
With two wins on the all-weather, Hello Queen booked a ticket to the 3yo Sprint Championship on AW finals day. That proved a step too far at that stage of her career and she was given a break to continue maturing. Refreshed from the lay off, Hello Queen would be making her turf and handicap debut at Doncaster. It was hard to work out how she would get on after the break but the feeling was that she was much better than her current mark. James Doyle was booked for the ride and was positive from the off.
Straight into her stride, Hello Queen bounced into the lead to take the field down the centre of the track. Spearheading the 7 runner field, her rivals tucked in behind to allow the filly a free run on the front end. Setting a nice, even gallop, Hello Queen took them along through the first half of the race with clear daylight in front of her.
James was looking to catch his rivals out when quickening the tempo but timing would be key. The pace hadn’t been crazy which meant that the entire field were in touch passing the 3f marker. The lead was cut to a bare minimum as the field closed up to Hello Queen readying their challenges. James just loosened the reins and got his filly to begin to stretch and this injected more pace into the race. Within strides the shape of the race changed and they began to race a long way out. Looking vulnerable, Hello Queen now started to retake control as she moved through the gears.
Between the 3f and 2f poles, Hello Queen dropped the majority of her challengers but it was the favourite who came through, looming up. Joining the lead the pair now went head to head, changing the lead with every bob of the head. It felt like the favourite was ready to pass, seemingly with the, momentum in their favour, but moving into the final furlong it proved to be the opposite. Hello Queen stuck to her guns and after battling hard, she started to find more and rally. She regained the lead and laid it down to the favourite to see what the response could be. There was nothing and Hello Queen continued to grind it out for the final 1/2f. Crossing the line, Hello Queen secured her third career win by 1/2 length.
It was great to see Hello Queen transfer her form to the turf and this was a good performance after a break. She did it the hard way, cutting out the running but then showing a great attitude to fight off a strong challenge. She has a very similar profile to her mother, Elnadim Star, who was trained at Hambleton Lodge too. Having progressed through handicap company she picked up listed success and hopefully Hello Queen can take the next step towards a similar goal.