CAMPBELLVILLE, ON — When Queen Of Jewels captured her Gold Series Elimination at Mohawk Racetrack last week her owners breathed a long sigh of relief. Heading into two weeks of lucrative racing, including this Monday’s $130,000 Gold Final and the $300,000 Super Final on Nov. 8, the three-year-old trotting filly appeared to be back on her game.

The 1:58 victory brought an end to a frustrating dry spell that started with a lacklustre performance in the Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association Stake Final on Sept. 19 and extended through the Flamboro Downs Gold Series Sept. 28 and Oct. 5.

“She doesn’t race very good on a half-mile track, she just doesn’t handle the turns very well,” explains co-owner Stewart Cockshutt. “And in her first race out of the retention barn (SBOA Final) she didn’t race very well. She had no trot at all, she was just dead.”

When trainer Carman Hie saw that last week’s Elimination would also be contested from the retention barn, the Beamsville resident started examining ways to prevent another poor showing. He settled on a morning work-out for the filly and that alteration, added to the experience she gained the first time, seemed to make all the difference to Queen Of Jewels’ performance.

“We stable at John Hayes’ farm in Beamsville and she’s used to being turned out every morning for a couple of hours,” says Cockshutt, “So Carman went in the morning and jogged her around, and she was fine this time. So maybe that was the answer.”

The filly will return to the overnight facility for this Monday’s Gold Final, and Cockshutt is hoping Hie’s early morning visit results in another solid effort from Queen Of Jewels.

“I hope she’s back racing where she should be,” says the Rockwood resident. “She’s good gaited and she’s really a tough mare, she just won’t quit. And when you get one like that it’s something special.”

Cockshutt and Hie have been partners in the Carman Hie Stable since 1972 and share ownership on Queen of Jewels with Gary Smith of Rockwood and Peter Kloepfer of Harley. The group acquired the King Conch daughter for $25,000 as a yearling in 2001 and endured a roller coaster ride during her two-year-old campaign as she scored two victories, one second and two thirds, and earned $55,252, while steering almost exclusively on one line.

“She’s a fiesty filly and we had some problems with her last year wanting to go sideways,” recalls Cockshutt. “But she’s settled down this year and Steve Condren has done a great job of driving her.”

Condren has piloted the filly to four wins, two seconds and one third in the 10 starts since he took over driving duties from Hie in mid-July. The veteran reinsman, who has piloted the winners of more than $82 million, will send Queen Of Jewels after a second Gold Final victory from Post 6 in Mondays’ sixth race and Cockshutt is looking forward to watching the duo face off against division leader For The Luva Moni for the fifth time this season.

“For The Luva Moni is a good mare, she can really go, but I think we’re just as good with the right trip,” says the long time owner.

For The Luva Moni will be looking for her second Gold Final victory from Post 4. The Balanced Image daughter captured her elimination in an identical 1:58 for owners the John Hayes Stable Limited of Beamsville, Ned Gvoich of Beamsville and Kim Kaplan of Worcester, MA.

Mohawk Racetrack sends its first race onto the seven-eighths mile oval at 7:40 pm, with the three-year-old trotting fillies wrapping up their Gold Series season in Race 6.