Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Saturday marks one week until the all-important G3 Blue Diamond Preludes, then a fortnight later, it’s the big one, the G1 Blue Diamond S. - Victoria’s pre-eminent race for 2-year-olds.
There have been some very impressive 2-year-old winners this season, but according to the betting markets, no standout. That may change on Saturday afternoon, with Caulfield to host the G3 Chairman’s S. - a race won by subsequent Group 1 winners such as Loving Gaby (I Am Invincible), Extreme Choice and Crystal Lily (Stratum). In fact, in 2016, Extreme Choice won the Chairman’s en route to Blue Diamond glory.
Meanwhile, in Sydney on Saturday, there’s the G3 Canonbury S. for colts and geldings and the G3 Widden S. for fillies. It’s unlikely to see many, if any, juveniles run in Sydney, then in Melbourne a fortnight later, but not impossible.
Colts and geldings
The Team Snowden-trained High Octane (Deep Field) realised $1,050,000 at last year’s Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, making him the most expensive yearling by Deep Field sold in 2023, and the manner in which he won the Listed Blue Diamond Preview for colts and geldings on January 26 suggests he has loads of ability.
Coleman (Pierata) could hardly have been more impressive on debut in October when winning the Listed Debutant S. at Caulfield by 1.25l. Sent straight to the paddock following the victory, Matt Laurie’s colt has the chance to enhance his Diamond credentials in Saturday’s $200,000 Chairman’s S.
James Cummings’ Traffic Warden (Street Boss {USA}) was beaten by the benchmark 2-year-old Storm Boy (Justify {USA}) on debut at Rosehill on December 2, before breaking his maiden impressively at Caulfield a fortnight later. He is back in Sydney to contest Saturday’s G3 Canonbury S. and has tuned up for his return with a fourth-placed effort in a Rosehill trial last month.
Bodyguard (I Am Invincible) - a stablemate of High Octane - bolted in on debut, flying up the Flemington straight to take the Listed Maribyrnong Plate by 2l in October. He bypassed the R. Listed Magic Millions 2YO Classic and has looked sharp in two trials in January.
The Phillip Stokes-trained Stay Focused (Cosmic Force) burst into Diamond contention when he won a golden ticket into the race via a strong debut victory in the Geelong Diamond in early January. He will be seen on Saturday week in the Prelude.
Tulloch Lodge’s 2-year-olds have been on fire, none more so than the Magic Millions hero Storm Boy, so it was little surprise to see Fully Lit (Hellbent) win first time out on January 20. He was too good for his rivals at Rosehill over 1100 metres.
Coolmore and Chris Waller unveiled Shinzo (Snitzel) in late January last year and he would go on to win the Slipper. The Coolmore-owned, Waller-trained Switzerland (Snitzel) debuted on January 27 at Randwick and the well-bred colt was simply superb, running away from his rivals to score by 2.67l.
Fillies
On the day High Octane laid a Diamond marker, Clinton McDonald’s Hayasugi (Royal Meeting {Ire}) displayed a sharp turn of foot to claim the G3 Blue Diamond Preview for fillies, breaking the ice at the third time of asking in the process.
Arguably the most impressive 2-year-old win in Victoria this season was that by Bold Bastille (Brazen Beau), who scored by 3l on debut in the R. Listed Inglis Banner on Cox Plate Day. Second in the race was Hayasugi, while placing fourth was the Team McEvoy-trained Rue De Royale (NZ) (Per Incanto {USA}), who then finished second to Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott’s unbeaten colt Shangri La Express (Alabama Express) in the $1 million Inglis Golden Gift at Rosehill. The Lindsay Park-trained Bold Bastille has overcome a minor setback (illness) and is likely to run in next week’s Prelude.
The Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman-trained Eneeza (Exceed And Excel) - a $1.1 million yearling - has done little wrong in her short career, finishing second on debut at Flemington in the G3 Ottawa S. behind the speedy Karavas (Alabama Express), who will miss the Diamond due to injury, before crushing her rivals in the Listed Merson Cooper S. at Caulfield on December 2. Eneeza is one of three fillies to tackle the boys in the Chairman’s on Saturday. Either she or Coleman are likely to start favourite in the Group 3 sprint.
There was plenty of hype around the Will Clarken and Niki O’Shea-trained Kuroyanagi (Written Tycoon) ahead of her debut at Gawler on January 20, and while the $1.35 favourite got the job done, the jury is out, given it was a four-horse field and her opposition likely moderate. The Written Tycoon filly is likely to press on to the Diamond.
Tobeornottobe (Pierata) threw her hat into the ring when a very good second behind Hayasugi in the Preview. Trained by Robbie Griffiths and Mathew de Kock, Tobeornottobe led and was gusty in the run home, with the Royal Meeting (Ire) filly - Hayasugi - only claiming her on the line.
The unraced
Given the proximity of the Diamond, one may think it would be close to impossible for an unexposed 2-year-old to win the time-honoured event. It has, however, been done before, most recently with Written By in 2018.
There’s good reports surrounding the Super Seth gelding King Bling. Trained by Anthony and Sam Freedman, King Bling finished third behind Vossmania (Blue Point {Ire}) and Rue De Royale in a Geelong trial on January 30. He is out of a sister to Beauty Flash (NZ) (Golan {Ire}) and is a half-brother to the Group 2 scorer My Gold Bracelet (NZ) (Pins).
Godolphin filly Trembles (Too Darn Hot {GB}), a stablemate of King Bling, has been kept safe in Diamond markets and if her ability matches her pedigree, she could be a serious player. Trembles is from the 2014 Diamond heroine Earthquake (Exceed And Excel), making the filly a half-sister to the stakes performers Sumatra (Lonhro) and Namazu (Medaglia D’Oro {USA}), as well as the talented 3-year-old Shaken (I Am Invincible) - a winner of three of her five starts.
