Rising Romance was coming off a five-week break, during which she had a foot problem, which must have cost her at least some training.
Much of the success of the Donna-Dean Logan partnership in recent seasons has been from a platform of ensuring a horse does not have a flat-out hard gallop the start before their grand final.
In Rising Romance's case there couldn't possibly have been a chance of having her 100 per cent fit after a setback and a five-week gap. She finished off nicely into fourth and apart from being fitter and harder this time, is guaranteed to better enjoy the 2400m, something she showed when charging home late from an impossible position to get close to Puccini in the NZ Derby at Ellerslie last month.
Lucia Valentina has yet to try 2400m and her connections, headed by trainer Chris Lees, are hoping the filly will manage, rather than being confident of it.
Before the Storm Queen the two fillies met in the 2000m Royal Stakes at Ellerslie on January 1 with Rising Romance easily breezing past Lucia Valentina to score by 1 lengths.
Being now trained in Australia possibly gives Lucia Valentina a one length or so advantage over a visiting Rising Romance, but that length and half in the Royal Stakes negates that.
Add in the fact Rising Romance will be fitter this time and that the 2400m will definitely suit and you start to appreciate that the $6 to $2.60 differential may not be an accurate indication.
Randwick is drying under better weather, but almost certainly the best that can be hoped for is borderline slow/heavy.
Rising Romance hadn't raced in heavy conditions until the Storm Queen and although she might prefer better footing this time, the ground will not totally hamper her.
Her dam, although of much lesser class, was good in the wet.
Meanwhile, there has been an Australasia-wide betting plunge on It's A Dundeel in the A$4 million Queen Elizabeth 11 Stakes.
The outstanding stallion has not won a race this campaign and has raced lengths off his best while under a cloud with foot problems.
When betting for today's historic race opened early this week, It's A Dundeel was the $6 third favourite behind the Queen's horse Carlton House at $3.50 and Silent Achiever at $4.60.
In one of the most dramatic betting turnarounds in a major race in recent years, It's A Dundeel was last night the $3.80 favourite in Australia and $3.50 favourite on the New Zealand TAB.
Rider James McDonald declared It's A Dundeel "much improved" after a gallop at Warwick Farm on Tuesday morning.
The stallion's price started to tumble just a little on both sides of the Tasman - initially $6 into $5 - but that snowballed late on Thursday as punters, encouraged by increasingly good rumours around the horse's health, clamoured to get on.
New Zealand TAB officials last night told the Weekend Herald 75 per cent of all money it is holding on the Queen Elizabeth Stakes is on It's A Dundeel.
Giving the blinding strength of the race, that is a staggering statistic.
The TAB has taken bets of $4000 at $4.20 and $6000 at $4.
That weight of money has forced Carlton House to drift dramatically from his original position of $3.50 favourite to $4.40 in Australia and even $4.80 on our TAB. BMW winner Silent Achiever has remained static on her $4.60 opening quote.
In his best form of the past 12 months It's A Dundeel would perhaps be even shorter than $3.50.
There has been improvement and the gamble is to establish the depth of that improvement.
There is nowhere to hide at this level, especially when you are racing for A$4 million, and It's A Dundeel will need to have improved a minimum of three lengths if he is to win.
As if the race didn't already have enough fascinating angles.
