Charlie Hills hopes Queen Catrine can recapture her juvenile promise in Saturday's Cecil Frail Stakes at Haydock Park.
The daughter of Acclamation was highly touted as a two-year-old when she bolted up by five lengths to win a maiden at Ayr, before finishing third in the Group 2 Duchess Of Cambridge Stakes at Newmarket and second in the Group 2 Lowther Stakes at York, both won by the George Margarson-trained Lucky Kristale.
However the filly disappointed in her three-year-old career, managing just one place from five starts in races over seven furlongs and a mile.
Connections returned the four-year-old to sprinting this season and she has shown promise once again. Earlier this month, she was a strong finishing fourth behind Newsletter, trained by Kevin Condon, over six furlongs at Nottingham which suggested there could be more to come.
With his charge now seemingly back on an upward projection, Hills is confident he's found his filly's correct distance and hopes for another good run at the weekend.
“On Saturday Queen Catrine runs in a listed race at Haydock. She really seemed to enjoy the return to six furlongs and we're hoping for a good show,” the Berkshire handler wrote on his website.
