THIS TIME SCREAM QUEEN WOULD NOT TO BE DENIED

By Graham Potter | Friday, February 18, 2022

The three-year-old bay filly Scream Queen gave trainer Melissa Taylor her second winner in February from only four starters when she took out a Maiden Plate over 1000m at the Sunshine Coast on February 18.

The daughter of Holler was having only her second start for the stable having raced on seven occasions (for a best placed third finish) for trainer Kevin Corstens before being relocated to Taylor at the Sunshine Coast.

Scream Queen won a trial in her first official action for Taylor back on January 11, before taking on race action for the first time in her new environment when tackling a Three-Year-Old Maiden Plate over 1000m at the sunshine Coast.

She was in the betting there (second favourite at $3.70), but ultimately had to settle for a close-up third placing after leading and then being outgunned late, finishing just 1.40 lengths behind the winner in a race contested in pouring rain.

That run was followed by another trial win, which put the writing on the wall for an expected big showing when Scream Queen appeared again, this time in a Maiden Plate over 1000 at the Sunshine Coast.

Jumping as third favourite at $3.80, Sean Cormack chased Scream Queen out of the starting gates and pushed forward to lead alongside the $101 outsider Broadwater, who was bold enough to try and make the play for an end-to-end win.

The outsider’s optimism lasted until shortly after the field turned for home where Cormack wasted no time in asking Scream Queen to extend and she duly immediately cruised past a weakening Broadwater and raced into a clear, two-length lead.

She had to be brave and resilient though, as she had to maintain a sustained run the whole length of the straight as the $2.70 favourite, Rose Of Duporth, who had been loafing along towards the rear of the field early, emerged out of the pack with a sustained run of her own down the centre of the track.

Scream Queen wasn’t having any of it though. She simply was not going to let any other runner past her this time and, having done the solid early work to set victory, she finished it off in style, in the end, easily holding Rose Of Duporth, who had been left with too much to do, at bay by 1.30 lengths.

That’s two runs by Scream Queen for Melissa Taylor now … for a win and a third placing.

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