It's not quite a case of Hakuna Matata or "no worries" with The Lion Queen at Wingatui today, but her trainer Steven Prince is excited about her future.
The royally-bred 3-year-old daughter of High Chaparral and The Mighty Lions made her debut at Wingatui two weeks ago after missing astart as a late 2-year-old because of shin soreness.
Her seventh in the 1400m maiden at her debut may look unflattering based simply on the number, but she hit the line strongly after drawing wide and finding trouble in the straight.
"I thought she'd get back a bit from the draw," Prince said on Tuesday.
"There was no sense in hunting her up just to be up there four and five wide, so we just rode her back.
"She didn't have a lot of room in the straight, but she found the line pretty good in the end."
Jockey Kylie Williams will team up with the filly again today and she hasn't been short of compliments about The Lion Queen.
"Kylie was very happy with her - it was just a bit of ringcraft that she lacked. I think she has improved from the race, so we'll just see how she is on Boxing Day, but she should be more streetwise.
"Kylie said to us this is the next best horse in your stable." Hear Me Roar won't be the biggest thoroughbred in the 2-year-old 800m, but she might be better behaved than most, Prince said.
The daughter of Raise The Flag has had two jumpouts in preparation for her first start, running second to Princess Brook before winning her second jumpout two weeks ago.
"She's a professional wee thing," Prince said. "She's drawn out [wide] but that won't be too bad at the half-mile. They are 2-year-olds and some of them will miss it."
