The Blue Diamond picture will be come a lot clearer after the Blue Diamond Prelude races this Saturday at Caulfield, so let’s take a look at the Sale Mail for these big and intriguing fields.
Once again we see the fillies division earns a higher rating than the colts from the Pattern Committee with the fillies gaining Group II status for their Blue Diamond Prelude (1100m) which has produced a long list of top class winners since 2000 including Blue Diamond winners Alinghi, Samaready, Earthquake, Catchy and Lyre, plus subsequent Group I winners Camarilla, Rostova and Guelph.
This edition has attracted a full field of 16 including the Blue Diamond Preview winner Hayasugi and Inglis Banner winner Bold Bastille, who is the early favourite.
Most expensive runner is Zoustar filly Altermatum, a $1,150,000 Magic Millions purchase from Newgate that showed nice ability at her only start in the spring running third in the Listed VRC Maribyrnong Trial to I Am Invincible colt Bodyguard, who runs in the colts division of this race.
She is the only and only foal from ill-fated stakes-placed Fastnet Rock mare Alter Call, a half-sister to Golden Slipper winner Estijaab abd Group II winner Remarque from Group I winner Response.
First season sire Yes Yes Yes will be looking to make a name for himself with talented filly Flattered, who ran very well for second in the Listed MRC Merson Cooper Stakes to Eneeza at her only start in the spring.
The Group III MRC Blue Diamond Prelude (1100m) for the colts was notably the first stakes race ever won by the great champion Lonhro and he remains the best horse to have ever won it.
Peter and Paul Snowden hold the key to the race with stakes-winning colts High Octane and Bodyguard engaged as well as Holmes a Court, who was second in the Blue Diamond Preview, while Cosmic Force colt Stay Focused looked good winning on debut at Geelong and faces his acid test.
