2 Year Old Previews: The G1 Blue Diamond Road

Victoria-AUS (VIC) – Sunday, August 26, 2018 — 3:00:00 PM EST

Blue Diamond Road – 6 Furlongs on Turf

Grade I — Purse : $750,000

Restricted to 2 Year Olds

Turf racing fans with one eye on the future can tune into the 6 furlong Blue Diamond Road this weekend. 14 starters will enter the gate in Victoria, many already boasting impressive race records. It is a wide-open field with initial favorite status split at 6/1 between Moves Like Stagger and Battlefield Hero. With over half of these colts already winning stakes races in their young careers, this is a tough one to predict.

Pour Mei Duck (7/1) drew the inside position. Three wins in eight starts, plus a second-place finish in the Grade I The More Nay just two weeks ago. He likes to start near the back of the pack and boasts a terrific kick in the stretch which could be enough to improve on that last result.

Next is Paint by Cadet (9/1). An undefeated colt bred in Ireland, this is actually his first race outside of the United States. His two prior races have played out remarkably similarly, taking the lead halfway through and pulling away to win by a length on each occasion. This will be his toughest test though, as he has not yet had to break 80 in the speed figures.

Writing Tickets (10/1) has a Grade II stakes win to his name, taking the Rich Man in July. Likes to start close to the front. Next to Pour Mei Duck, he has the second-highest career winnings so far at $306,674.

Sky Harder (24/1) is the joint-longshot in his second start on turf after racing four times on dirt tracks. Only one win in five, his first race in a maiden allowance. An against-the-odds second-place finish at an ungraded stakes race in April has his connections thinking big but two prior shots at the graded stakes level have come up far short.

Moves Like Stagger (6/1) has shown exactly the kind of progression you want in a young racehorse, winning his first two starts and finishing third in a fast ungraded stakes a little more than a month ago. Slight improvement each time, potentially now poised for a big breakthrough.

To his outside starts A Bit Iffy (11/1). A bit of an up-and-down first three races, but the second-place finish in the Grade II Bobby Papin shows his quality. If the jockey can keep him focused, this may be a decent outside play to hit the board.

Kraby Giant (7/1) is the gate-to-wire winner of the Danzing Cielo Turf Juvenile in April as well as winning the New Sensations Turf Juvenile a month later. Has not raced since July 13^th, a disappointing third after going off as the favorite in another ungraded stakes in New Zealand.

Dukes Dusty (24/1) goes off as the other longshot in the race. Still a maiden, this competition will likely be a bit too much to handle. Still, he’s a local boy from Australia and has at least finished in the money in both previous starts.

Blinko Cap (20/1) finished fourth, half a length behind A Bit Iffy, in the Bobby Papin last month. He could make up the difference with an extra half a furlong to go in this race. None of his other race times will blow you away but they came in two wins plus a fifth-place on yielding turf. No issue with that on Sunday as the weather forecast looks good.

Mar a Star (20/1) is the son of a UAE local champion Shakespeare Prayer, who triumphed over 16 furlongs at the ripe old age of 8. Her colt’s turf sprinting career hasn’t started on quite the same note, however, with one win from three and a daunting step up in field quality on the way.

Drawing Gate 11 is Battlefield Hero (6/1). Despite sharing favorite status with Moves like Stagger, its hard to look past this horse based on his last result and pedigree. Won going away with a blistering 88 speed figure in July. Sire is Dansili by the Grade II winning mare Battlefield Earth. That combination has produced two graded stakes winners out of six, with Battlefield Earth also having a Grade II winner by Oasis Dream. Not a bad bloodline.

Mas Cadet (9/1) just lost out to Writing Tickets at the Rich Man. Revenge could be in the offing this time out though tired legs could be an issue as this will be his tenth start, twice as many as most of his competitors. Owner fes977 can’t complain either way, he took this now-Grade III winner with a $50,000 tag in a Maiden Claim back in January.

Deep Rivers (7/1) won the Grade III Golden HandGrenade at 7 furlongs in his previous race, but looks to take a step back in distance for this one. His only attempt at this distance was a maiden victory in the URC – Hopes and Dreams MSW on the New York turf.

Tuff Light (15/1) is already the most accomplished of One Tuff Oop’s foals by virtue of a surprise victory in the Grade III Triple P. Couldn’t repeat the act in the Champagne Mile on this Victoria turf, but that familiarity may still give him a slight edge on Sunday.