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By Tony Megahey

With meetings washed out the strongest regional and also high-profile city stables have converged in big numbers for Scone’s Friday TAB meeting, however, another particularly heavy track and capacity fields guarantees one thing - an absolute mine field for punters.

The safest option might be select runners from the stable of regular regional premiership trainer Kris Lees.

“Tough a day as it gets, heavy track, big fields and unknowns, the maidens and low graders but they’ll race, that’s the main thing.”

Lights of Paradise (Christian Reith) wins at Scone on debut. Image by Bradley Photographers

Guarded, Lees's best are likely to be Mr Crowning Moment ($7) in the Scone Equine Hospital Maiden Handicap, 1200m and Scone maiden winner Lights of Paradise ($4.80) an emergency in the last, the Prydes Easifeed Performance Class 1, 1300m.

But the horse is likely to secure a start with three early scratchings and four other trainers not yet declaring jockeys, mostly drawn wide.

“Mr Crowning Moment has the race experience into a maiden, contested harder races in Brisbane for sure, really nice progressive Hallowed Crown colt forward off two trials,” Lees offered.

Mr Crowning Moment will carry 58kg and has a handy barrier 6 for Blake Spriggs.

The colt ran second at Eagle Farm in March after a creditable seventh in a feature Jewel Prelude at Doomben and returning to the Newcastle stable has been readied by recent trials on the Beaumont Track and at Wyong.

Lights of Paradise, an impeccably bred I Am Invincible-Rose of Choice (Choisir) filly and a $500,000 yearling, led to win a Scone maiden impressively on soft going a month ago off extensive trials.

She contests the final race for Andrew Gibbons: “She took some nice trials to the races, has trained on and drawn out but showed good speed to lead and closed nicely.

“Back to the scene of the crime to take the next step and shaping like we’ll get a run.”

At present Scone is a Heavy 9 in fine weather.

View the final fields with full form & race replays for Scone here