Queen Of Scotch Stars In St. Leger Decider

DARYL Gaspari and his son Brett have been worried all week that their star sprinting bitch Queen Of Scotch was badly boxed to win Thursday night's SA St Leger (530m) at Angle Park.

The daughter of boom young sire Hooked On Scotch and Neytiri Queen had drawn the two.

While she had won her heat the week before off the rails, Daryl, Brett and their trainer, Tony Rasmussen, knew only too well the bitch is desperate for a wide draw.

“She spears right over to the eight,” said Daryl. “And unless she can clear the others, that can always be a problem.”

What problem!

Queen Of Scotch began like a rocket, took a decided swoop to the right but comfortably cleared her rivals and grabbed an early lead.

When she kicked a few clear of Xoie Bale turning out of the back straight, Daryl and Brett knew they had the St Leger in the bag.

“She ended up winning quite comfortably,” said Daryl who has spent the past few years as a catcher on race nights for the Rasmussen kennel and regularly spends days helping out at the kennels at Gifford Hill.

Queen Of Scotch scored by two and a quarter lengths over Xoie Bale with Yarramundi Paulo in third in a slick 30.33.

It was her 14th win in 30 starts but she has always been a quality race bitch from the time she made the Champion Puppy final as a baby and the G1 National Futurity at Wenty late in January.

Daryl and Brett bought her from breeder Ben George as a pup and she was reared by the Rasmussens.

The win by the exciting Hooked On Scotch bitch came on the same day that another of his progeny, Brutal Power, broke the clock at Warragul over the 400 metres.

Now trained by Kayla Cottrell, Brutal Power ran a flying 22.12, just two lengths outside the track record in a dazzling display of sustained speed.