Blue Diamond Babes at Caulfield

Miss Roseiano on her way to winning the Fillies Blue Diamond Preview

It has been over a week in Melbourne that  we’ve had to endure hot and sticky weather, quite tropical in fact.

In the past I used to quite enjoy summer weather, but as I’ve got older I find it hard to endure  hot days, so it was with some trepidation that I wended my way to Caulfield on Australia Day for the Blue Diamond Previews meetings.

Fortunately trains were running on the Hurstbridge and Frankston lines, so at least I didn’t have to put up with the concomitant inconveniences of transport disruptions.

I arrived at Caulfield about twenty minutes before the first race as intended. This was the colts and geldings Blue Diamond Preview, one of the races I wanted to see.

Not many other people were in attendance, so I had no trouble getting to my favourite spot on the fence for action photography and finding a seat in the shade in between races.

The stalls area was blocked off for major renovations so general admission race patrons were limited to the front lawn area and Norman Robinson Stand.

Interestingly, first starters won both the Blue Diamond Previews, Daumier proving too good for race favourite Philosopher and prevailing over the challenging Rampant Lion in the colts division to win by half a length.

Daumier holds off Rampant Lion to win the Blue Diamond Preview

Miss Roseiano led the much larger field of the fillies Preview from the start, and couldn’t be run down by challenging fillies Written Swoosh and race favourite Latizia. She came in at big odds, being unfancied in the betting.

Miss Roseiano zooms up the straight

I stayed at Caulfield for the following two races, the first of these being the Evergreen Turf Handicap a race over 1100 metres. I can’t say that I’d ever taken much interest in any of the runners.

Asfoora beat Jilette by a length with For Real Life running third.

Asfoora  (no 2) and Jilette fight out the finish in the Evergreen Turf Handicap

Race 4 was the Listed W J Adams Stakes, another sprint over 1000 metres. Only four contenders were set to run in this race, one of them Enthaar, who started as the hot favourite. I’ve at least seen her race a few times, including on Zipping Classic Day where she won the Listed Doveton Stakes  from Streetcar Stranger.

This time however she ran last, over racing early in the race to fade in the straight, whilst Streetcar Stranger went on to win from Mossman Gorge and Esta La Roca.

Streetcar Stranger challenges Esta La Roca with Mossman Gorge charging on the outside

It was a disappointing performance by Enthaar, but no doubt she’ll be back in the winners stall again sometime or other.

Calling it quits after the W J Adams Stakes, I headed home, the trains coinciding nicely, but I faced a hot and sticky walk home from Ivanhoe Station.

I survived, and overall was pleased by the rare outing despite the challenging weather.

Let’s hope that the rest of the Autumn racing carnival is run in more tolerable conditions.