Back at the Track – Blue Diamond Previews

Hanseatic on his way to winning the Colts & Geldings Blue Diamond Preview

With the CF Orr Stakes, the first Group 1 of the 2020 Autumn Racing Carnival, a little less than a fortnight hence,  it was pleasant to resume my Saturday afternoons at the races.

Though not a particularly riveting meeting, I always take an interest in the early build up races to the Blue Diamond Stakes, and at Caulfield last Saturday the two Blue Diamond Previews were the must see events.

My racing photographer friends Rebecca and George, also had the same idea, so it was pleasant to catch up with them again.

Despite the transport disruptions with trains to Caulfield being replaced by buses, it didn’t take me all that long to get there, an express bus from Flinders Street reaching Caulfield in a mere 20 minutes.

So I was at the track in plenty of time to see the first of the Previews and even had time to cruise through the stalls area first.

Hanseatic was highly fancied for the boys Preview and he was being accoutred  in his stall as I passed.

Hanseatic in his stall

Also in her stall was the eventual winner of the fillies Preview, A Beautiful Night, though she looked a trifle peeved to be there.

A Beautiful Night in her stall

It being early in the autumn racing season, there wasn’t much of a crowd, so it was easy to get a spot on the fence to photograph the races. I had of course taken along my step, doubly handy as the rail was out by 6 metres.

Hanseatic was most impressive winning the Colts Blue Diamond Preview, racing wide for most of the race then taking off shortly after the turn into the straight to blitz the field and win by 2½ lengths from Glenfiddich with Fixated running third a further 2 lengths in arrears.

Hanseatic whizzes past Glenfiddich in the straight

Glenfiddich running second

Fixated on his way to the barriers

Fresh was the warm favourite for the fillies Blue Diamond Preview, but she was outrun by A Beautiful Night who led from the start to win narrowly from the fast finishing Fresh. Unstoppabelle finished third two lengths behind.

A Beautiful Night in full flight down the straight

Fresh on her way to the barriers

Unstoppabelle on her way to the barriers

I only stayed for one more race, the 1400 metre the Lamaro’s Hotel Sth Melbourne Handicap and it resulted in a wall of horses hitting the post at the same time.  Zero Doubt got the nod from Wedgetail and race favourite Wilmont Pass.

Race 5 finish – Zero Doubt is on the rail, Wedgetail is outside and Wilmont Pass is the centre

The afternoon was warm and sunny, quite a change from my last race outing on Mackinnon Stakes Day last Spring where it was somewhat inclement.

It was worth attending for the two Diamond Previews, though next week promises to be more interesting as the better performed runners start emerging to begin their Autumn campaigns. Looking at the nominations, I hope to see the likes of Caulfield Guineas winner Super Seth and others such as Loving Gaby, I Am Immortal, and Sunlight’s little sister Sisstar.

Mother’s Boy Comes Good in the Rupert Clarke Stakes

Begood Toya Mother on his way to winning the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes

When I left home to go to Caulfield Racecourse, the rain was bucketing down, and the weather promised to be iffy for the rest of the afternoon.

There’s nothing worse than feeling damp for the stretch of an afternoon, so I’m glad B obligingly gave a lift to Ivanhoe station.

By the time I finally reached Caulfield the rain had abated and the sun was emerging from the clouds, though a stiff breeze was blowing directly head on to horses racing down the straight.

I stuck to the public lawn for all five of the races I watched over the afternoon, having taken my step to facilitate snaps from the fence near the finish line. Besides, I take far fewer photos from that postition than if I was on the hill above the stalls area, so it’s less tedious to sort the photos next day.

The first of the races I witnessed was Race 3, the Living Legends Plate for three year olds, run over 1000 metres. I was interested to see how I Am Immortal would fare. In autumn he won both the Blue Diamond Preview and Blue Diamond Prelude, though finished 7th in the Blue Diamond Stakes. This was his first start since then, and he started as favourite.

I Am Immortal on his way to the barriers

The race was won by South Australian trained Garner who won by a nose from race leader Sartorial Splendor with Lucifer’s Reward half a length running third. I Am Immortal missed the start and ended up finishing seventh.

Garner overtaking Lucifer’s Reward close to the finish line

Sartorial Splendor on his way to the barriers

Haut Brion Her, last seen at Moonee Valley on 7 September where she narrowly lost to Tofane, again started as favourite for the Fight Cancer Foundation Handicap, but despite fighting out the finish with Fabric, lost by  overa length at the post. She is not as comfortable running the Melbourne way (anti clockwise) as she is the clockwise Sydney way.  One More Try finished third.

Fabric and Haut Brion Her head to head down the straight

Race 5 was the Group 3 How Now Stakes, a race for mares over 1200 metres.  Pippie was the hot favourite, but she failed to feature in the finish after leading early in the race.  Godolphin mare Manicure was the eventual winner,  defeating Angelic Ruler by 1½ lengths.  Dawn Dawn ran third.

Manicure takes the lead from Dawn Dawn in the straight

Angelic Ruler out runs the rest of the field heading for the finishing post

The MRC Foundation Cup (formerly known as the Naturalism Stakes)  was the next race to jump. The winner gains a ballot free entry into the Caulfield Cup and the Chris Waller trained Brimham Rocks achieved this quite impressively, winning easily by 1¼ lengths from stablemate So You Win with Sikandarabad 2 lengths behind in third place.

Brimham Rocks holds off So You Win as they thunder down the straight

The afternoon had grown considerably darker by this time and the lowering clouds looked ominous, threatening a downpour for the feature Group 1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes.

However, the rain held off and the race was run without drama.

Begood Toya Mother was the warm favourite and didn’t disappoint his many fans, winning by 1¼ lengths after racing on the speed in second place behind Iconoclasm,  taking the lead at the top of the straight. Age Of Chivalry finished second and Widgee Turf ran third.

Begood Toya Mother on his way to the barriers

Begood Toya Mother returns to scale in the mounting yard

I called it quits after the Rupert Clarke Stakes and made it home without getting drenched by the rain that eventually arrived in the late afternoon.

Next Saturday is AFL Grand Final Day in Melbourne, so the feature Group 1 Underwood Stakes meeting at Caulfield is held on Sunday.

Moonee Valley kick off their night racing season on Friday night with the Group 1 Moir Stakes, which has attracted a super field that includes Sunlight and Nature Strip.

In Sydney the feature race is the Group 1 Golden Rose at Rosehill.

Girl Power – Blue Diamond Stakes Day Review

Just after the finish in the Blue Diamond Stakes – winner Lyre (blue silks)

So far there have been five Group 1 races in 2019 Autumn racing carnival, and remarkably four of the five have been won by the fairer sex.

Such was the case last Saturday where the girls triumphed in all three of the feature Group 1 events.

I arrived at Caulfield in time to watch Race 3, the Group 3 Mannerism Stakes, a race for mares over 1400 metres. It was won by Jamaican Rain from Naantali and Teleplay.

Jamaican Rain returns to scale

Race 4 was the not very interesting Group 2 Angus Armanesco Stakes, for three year old fillies, also run over 1400 metres. Qafila scored the second win of her 13 starts career, winning by half a length from race favourite Angelic Ruler, with Zoubo a close third.

Qafila on her way to the barriers

A small field contested the Group 3 Zedative Stakes with only five starters in contention. The Chris Waller trained Zousain was the hot favourite and was expected to shoe it in.  Everyone underestimated the so far unbeaten Terbium, an attractive grey-bay colt trained in South Australia, who romped in almost two lengths in front of Zousain. Yulong January finished third.

Terbium returns to scale

Zousain (red silks) & Yulong January return to scale

The next three races were the Group 1 events and the Futurity Stakes was the opener. Sydney mare Alizee started favourite and franked her form with a very impressive win. She raced wide for most of the race, her jockey, Hugh Bowman, opting to keep her unhindered in her run. She hit the front close to the finish line and won by half a length from Malaguerra with grand old trooper Hartnell running third another half length behind.

Futurity Stakes just past the post

Alizee returns to scale

Malaguerra on his way to the barriers

Hartnell returns to scale

It was not long to wait for the feature Blue Diamond Stakes and as the youngsters filed onto the track it was anyone’s guess who the winner would be with Loving Gaby and Athiri sharing favouritism at around 5/1.

I Am Immortal grabbed the lead shortly after the start  and led until the last 100 or so metres, where he was swamped by the swoopers Lyre, Lankan Star and Free of Debt and others.  Lyre won by half a length from Lankan Star with Free of Debt finishing third.

Lyre returns to scale, her jockey Luke Currie celebrating with a thumbs up

Lankan Star returns to scale

Free of Debt on his way to the mounting yard

In the Oakleigh Plate, the final Group 1 race of the day, Nature Strip was short priced favourite, but was a major disappointment after leading throughout, fading in the straight to finish 10th.  The winner, local mare Booker came from the back of the back of the pack to win by almost a length from Encryption with Eduardo finishing third.

Oakleigh Plate just past the post – Booker still leads

Booker returns to scale

I called it a day after the Oakleigh Plate, heading for the station and home.

It had been another pleasant day at the races. It was fairly crowded on the course, but not where I hang out on the hill above the stalls area.

Next Saturday, the races in Melbourne are at Flemington for the Australian Guineas. A fabulous field has been nominated for this event and I’m looking forward to seeing how super talented Tassie filly Mystic Journey fares in it.

In Sydney at Randwick, Winx will be running in the Group 1 Chipping Norton Stakes. She’s won it the last three years running and will be aiming to make history by equalling Tie the Knot’s winning sequence of 1999 to 2002.

Blue Diamond Stakes Day 2019

I Am Immortal – Blue Diamond Preview

Saturday’s racing at Caulfield features the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes as well as two other Group 1 races – Futurity Stakes and Oakleigh Plate.

I first attended the Blue Diamond Stakes back in 2012. I remember the day as being a hot 40° C and that the Blue Diamond winner was Samaready.

This Saturday the weather is forecast to be in the mid 20s and sunny, a perfect for a day at the races.

So who will win the Blue Diamond Stakes?

Having watched all the build up races, several stand out as likely chances; colt I Am Immortal, and fillies Catch Me, Brooklyn Hustle, Lyre and Loving Gaby who was the early race favourite. It being a race for two year olds anything could happen, so one of the other four colts or five fillies could steal the show.

The first of the Group 1 races scheduled to run is the Futurity Stakes, a race over 1400 metres, comprising the usual suspects such as Hartnell, Redkirk Warrior, Land of Plenty, Le Romain and Brave Smash. Early favourite is Sydney mare Alizee who started her Autumn with an impressive win in the Group 2 Expressway Stakes. She is also favourite for the All Star Mile, the new race on the block that will be run on the 16th March at Flemington.

Also in the Futurity picture is Orr Stakes winner Manuel and talented three year old Ringerdingding.

Speedster Nature Strip takes on a huge field in the Group 1 Oakleigh Plate that include such talented sprinters as Viddora, Eduardo and Booker.  Nature Strip looks the logical pick and should win if he has recovered from his dazzling win in the Rubiton Stakes a fortnight ago.

I intend to get to the track around 1.30 pm. Fortunately trains will be running as normal.

A Timely win in the Black Caviar Lightning & Winx Big 30

Approaching the finishing post in the Black Caviar Lightning

When I got on the bus to go to Clifton Hill railway station, a couple of fractious passengers were bristling with aggro over nothing much and looked as if they could get into fisticuffs. The driver threatened to throw them off the bus, so they settled down, thank goodness, and the rest of the journey passed without incident.

At Flemington all was peace, love, happiness and Woodstock Nation, a festive atmosphere typical of race meetings, where even children are catered for with various fun activities.

I arrived at the track at around 1.30pm and managed to get my step past the gates, as there was no security check point at the Railway entrance, though my friend George had to resort to subterfuge to get his ladder through security at the car park entrance.

The contestants for Race 3 were parading in the mounting yard, but after hiding my step behind the rose bushes near my favourite spot just past the finishing post, I headed to the stalls area to see who had arrived and gave that race a miss.

Living Legends Apache Cat and Silent Witness were the special equine guests for the meeting and were being pampered in their stalls.

Apache Cat

Silent Witness

I was particularly interested in seeing More Sundays, a son of the wonderful mare More Joyous sired by Fastnet Rock.

More Sundays

More Sundays has only had three starts for one win, and so far has hardly lived up to his illustrious breeding.

Sunlight arrived whilst I was in the stalls area, so I grabbed a photo of her in her stall.

Sunlight

As the next race was yet another Blue Diamond build up race, the Talindert Stakes, named for the property where famous steeplechaser Crisp was born, and owned by Sir Chester Manifold, I headed back to my spot on the access gate to photograph the race and pretty well stayed there for the rest of the afternoon.

Microphone, last seen running second to I Am Immortal in the Blue Diamond Preview, was the starting favourite for the Talindert, and he delivered in spades, winning by over two lengths from Talented and Charleise.

Microphone then daylight winning the Talindert Stakes

Microphone returns to scale

As you can see the light was perfect for taking photos. It was a warm sunny day but not exceptionally hot.

Race 5 was the Group 3 Vanity Stakes,  a race for three year old fillies over 1400 metres.

Fundamentalist was the favourite, but she was relegated to third by the former Darren Weir trained stablemates Amphitrite and Verry Elleegant. Amphitrite is now with the David Hayes stable and Verry Elleegant with Chris Waller.

The result struck me as a natural trifecta, not that I had any money on the race.

Vanity finish – Amphitrite is outside Fundamentalist with Verry Elleegant behind

Amphitrite on her way to the barriers

Verry Elleegant returns to scale

Fundamentalist on her way to the barriers

The handy thing about the step is that you can sit on it in between races, and this I did, mildly amused by the Sumo wrestling activity near the access gate. Yes, I was in the Kids Zone and the theme was Chinese New Year.

The sumo wrestling involved kids donning cumbersome sumo suits and facing off against each other. The kid who managed to topple its opponent and hold them down for the count of five, was the victor.

Sumo wrestling – droll amusement

Race 6 was the not terribly interesting Hong Kong Jockey’s Club Trophy, an open race over 1600 metres.

Heptagon was the pre race favourite, but he ended out of a place in fourth. The race was won by 10/1 shot Thunder Cloud from Antah and Mr Money Bags.

Thunder Cloud & Antah cross the line together with Mr Money Bags behind them

Thunder Cloud on his way to the barriers

Antah on his way to the barriers

Mr Money Bags returns to scale

By the time race 6 was run and won, there was a quarter of an hour until Winx’s first race of the season was set to run, so stowing my step behind the rose bushes, I headed closer to the big screen to watch the Apollo Stakes.

Randwick appeared to be packed with Winx fans, and a familar cheer greeted her as she moved onto the track. The race was like many that we have seen before with Winx running mid field, one off the inside rail. Of course she cruised to the front shortly after the field turned into the straight and went on to win her 30th consecutive race effortlessly and in doing so broke the course record. Happy Clapper ran second and Winx’s stablemate Egg Tart filled third place.

Watching the race on the Flemington public lawn with several other interested observers we cheered her to the post as if we were at Randwick in person.

Back in Spring I witnessed Tasmanian filly Mystic Journey win two races in impressive fashion and the C S Hayes Stakes resulted in a win by a fellow Tasmanian, The Inevitable, at big odds.

What do they put in the water?

Only a little fellow like his sire Dundeel, The Inevitable fought out the finish with New Zealand bred Age of Chivalry with O’tauto running third two lengths in arrears.

The Inevitable and Age of Chivalry cross the finish line together

The Inevitable returns to scale

Age of Chivalry on his way to the barriers

O’tauto on his way to the barriers

The Inevitable’s next race is the Group 1 Australian Guineas on 2 March, where he will be up against the classy Mystic Journey, who has had two starts for two wins in her own State so far this autumn.

The feature Group 1 Black Caviar Lightning was up next and fortunately the runners raced in a bunch down the centre of the track. Sunlight briefly hit the front at 300 mark but was overtaken by In Her Time and Osborne Bulls. She hung on to run third, less than a length from the first two home.

In Her Time returns to scale

Osborne Bulls returns to scale

Sunlight returns to scale with Written By

I headed for the station after the Black Caviar Lightning and made it home, one and a half hours later.

This coming Saturday features three Group 1 races at Caulfield including the Blue Diamond Stakes. Always a good day’s racing I’m looking forward to attending.