More than $103 million worth of Australasia’s most sought-after bloodstock feature among 1,348 nominations for the 2027 $2 million Group 1 Sportsbet Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m).
Ninety-three of the 100 highest-priced yearlings sold across Australasia in 2026 are among the entries, including every one of the top 47 highlighted by Ecuador, the $3 million Extreme Choice colt out of Group 2 winner Pretty Brazen, the highest-priced yearling sold in Australasia this year.
Chris Waller heads the nominations with 133 entries. Remarkably, the champion trainer is yet to have a runner in the Blue Diamond Stakes. Ciaron Maher, another trainer yet to win the race, has assembled a team of 111 nominations.
Few trainers have enjoyed greater recent success in the race than Clinton McDonald.
McDonald has nominated 24 two-year-olds as he chases a third Blue Diamond victory in four years, having prepared Streisand to win the 2026 edition two years after Hayasugi’s success.
McDonald believes keeping things simple is central to developing young two-year-olds.
“I think the most important thing is they’ve got to be there for you, you don’t have to train them,” McDonald said.
“You just keep them happy, feed them well, look after them, and the horses do it on their own.”
“With the two-year-olds, I think it’s just education and keeping them happy. Don’t over-train them and keep it pretty simple.”
Among McDonald’s nominations is an Extreme Choice filly out of Group 1 Flight Stakes winner Speak Fondly, bought with Shane McGrath Bloodstock for $1.8 million at this year’s Australian Easter Yearling Sale. She is the most expensive daughter of Extreme Choice sold at public auction.
“We paid a lot of money for her. She looks a real likely type, a very two-year-old sort of horse – big, strong hindquarter with a good girth,” McDonald said.
McDonald described two of his Blue Diamond nominees as “little smokeys”: a Star Witness half-brother to Streisand, purchased for just $20,000 at the 2026 Premier Yearling Sale only days after Streisand won the Blue Diamond, and an $80,000 Lope de Vega colt out of Saameyah.
Melbourne Racing Club Chief Executive Officer Tanya Fullarton said the nominations reflected the extraordinary quality of horses being targeted at next year’s race.
“The strength of the nominations for the 2027 Sportsbet Blue Diamond is exceptional, and to have 93 of the 100 highest-priced yearlings sold across Australasia this year among the entries demonstrates the standing of the race,” Fullarton said.
“The Blue Diamond has a proud history of identifying outstanding horses at the very beginning of their careers, and the depth of this year’s nominations gives us every reason to believe we could see another exceptional crop emerge at Caulfield next February.”
Victorian two-year-old form proved particularly strong last season. Blue Diamond winner Streisand and third-placed Guest House subsequently ran the Golden Slipper quinella, while Chayan won the Group 2 Riesling Stakes and Stretan Ruler claimed the Group 2 Silver Slipper.
The strength of the nominations also extends to the stallion ranks. Home Affairs leads all sires with 72 nominations after his first crop was headlined by Guest House. Darley champion Anamoe has 60 nominations from his first crop of two-year-olds, matching established champion sire I Am Invincible.
The 2027 Sportsbet Blue Diamond Stakes will be run at Caulfield on Saturday, 20 February.
Click here to view the full list of nominations for the 2027 Sportsbet Blue Diamond Stakes.
