Dowager Queen has flown into favourite for the 2011 Crown Oaks after Atlantic Jewel was withdrawn over the weekend.

Atlantic Jewel was set to start as short as $1.10 or $1.20 but now that race has been thrown wide open to the field of 11.

Dowager Queen has secured the top pick though after she ran on well for third spot behind Atlantic jewel in the Wakeful Stakes.

Previous to that she also put in a huge final 200m,  that time to run home in second position after making the turn last over 2000m at Caulfield.

Trainer Graeme Rogerson acknowledges that with Atlantic Jewel in the race he was probably running for second but makes no apologies for trying to capitalise eon her demise.

“You’ve got to cop the good and the bad, we lost Scarlett Lady early on,” he said.

He said his horse was never going to beat the favourite in the Wakeful Stakes but her run still should have been better than it was.

“A few things went wrong,  Craig dropped his whip, had to use his hand to get her going,” he said.

On paper she looks the horse most likely to run out the 2500m and Rogerson says she looks the part condition wise as well.

“She looks exceptional, eaten everything, just going a treat,” he said.

The main threats to Dowager Queen look to be the horses that have beaten her in her previous two runs.

While she may have had excuses on both occasions the fact remains that Gliding got her at Caulfield and Rahveel did the same last start in the Wakeful Stakes.

There’s also the addition of Mosheen which steps up to the 2500m after running across just 1600m last week in the Myer Classic.