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By Ray Hickson

Trainer Cameron Crockett says the time is right at Dubbo on Sunday to find out where promising mare Lonhro’s Queen sits in the grand scheme as he weighs up a Country Championships campaign in the new year.

Trainer Cameron Crockett (Pic: Bradley Photos)

With four wins from eight starts, the four-year-old doesn’t have a lot of room to move to remain eligible for the Championships, which is for Class 5 horses and below, but he’s not prepared to tread water and wait.

So after a short break following successive Highway wins in July and August she’s ready to go again in the XXXX Gold Vincent Gordon Handicap (1100m).

“She gets so gross and mares that are in form you don’t want to turn them out for too long for no reason,’’ Crockett said.

“It’s an open handicap and it’s worth $35,000 to the winner so if you can win or run well in that you pick up decent prizemoney and it sets up a decent foundation to go to something in town.

“If she goes well we’ve got a fit mare ready to go for something stronger.

“We’ll just wait and see what happens (re the Championships), you don’t want to just wait for one race. I’ve fallen into that trick before but we’ll give her a couple of runs and figure out what we do.”

The Hunter & North West Country Championships (1400m) isn’t run until late February or early March, with venues not confirmed as yet.

Lonhro’s Queen isn’t eligible for the $2 million The Kosciuszko as she didn’t join Crockett’s stable from John O’Shea until after the cut off date.

But that’d definitely be on the radar next year if she lives up to what Crockett believes she can and sees the Dubbo race, against Kosciuszko contender Gallant Star, as a good measuring stick.

“I don’t think it’s out of her reach by any means,’’ he said.

“If she’s going to go for something on a Saturday she’s really got to be able to win that. It’s a way to get a line on how she’s come back outside of class Highways.

“We want to keep building on her confidence and the way we’ve placed her so she can be better going forward.”

The four-year-old, $5 with TAB on Saturday but with Tanglewood who runs at Rosehill still in the market, has 54kg in the sprint with Ashley Morgan, who rode in the first of her two recent trials, back on board.

“She’s loaded with ability, if she speed’s on and she gets back a bit she has the ability to overcome it,’’ he said.

“She has a good weight and a good barrier but I’m sure going into an open handicap in the country you shouldn’t over analyse it with a horse like her. She’s just got to handle that step up in grade now.”

Custo and Riva Del Sol also line up in the sprint and Crockett said neither are out of their place on their best form with the former winning the prelude three runs back then placing in town while the latter had a small setback after her placing at Moree.

“He’s in really good order and he’ll be right there in the finish,’’ he said of Custo.

Lonhro's Queen wins a Muswellbrook trial on September 23

“Riva Del Sol pulled up a little crook after Moree, she hasn’t had the best prep. She’s not easy to train, but when she’s right she’s very tough and honest.

“If it was 900m or 1000m I’d be a lot more confident but she’ll be running well.”

Crockett is represented by Rajnish in the $150,000 Dubbo City and Gilgandra Toyota Dubbo Gold Cup (1600m).

All the fields, form and replays for Sunday's Dubbo meeting