A DECISION to acquire three-year-old bitch Smokey Queen from Victoria paid immediate dividends on Monday for Orange trainer Anthony Coyte at Kennerson Park.
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The daughter of College Causeway out of Drama Queen had her first start in New South Wales and based on some of her form during a brief four-race career in the southern state, was sent out as a $2.50 favourite at the Bathurst track for the 307 metre maiden.
The only real query about her quality before the race was the fact that she would have to overcome a tough draw out of box four.
She showed that any such concerns were baseless as a brilliant start ensured she was never headed. The winning time was 17.92 seconds.
"We thought we could get a bit out of her after buying her recently," Coyte said.
"We knew when we picked her up that she had a bit of class about her, she is a strong dog and there is absolutely no doubt that she will run over 500 metres later in her career.
"The start was obviously going to be important but I knew she was capable of nailing it like that.
"The pedigree in Melbourne is strong even for maiden races so that gave me some confidence about her ability. Now we'll place her in some graded races over 307 metres but try and look at working her up to longer distances."
