Unbeaten colt I Am Immortal heads up the final field for the 2019 Group 1 $1.5m Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield on Saturday.
I Am Immortal, above, heads up the field for the 2019 Blue Diamond Stakes at Caulfield. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos.
The Anthony Freedman trained colt will be joined by his stablemate Lyre in the final field of fourteen two year olds who will be chasing the winning purse of $900,000.
I Am Immortal made it two wins from two starts when he led all of the way to take out the Group 3 $200,000 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Prelude (C&G) (1100m) at Caulfield on February 9 and stable representative Sam Freedman said that the I Am Invincible colt still had more improvement to come.
“There is probably a little bit of improvement out of this to come and hopefully can peak in to weeks,” Sam Freedman said after I Am Immortal’s Blue Diamond Prelude win.
Ben Melham will be aboard I Am Immortal again while Luke Currie will take over from Damian Lane on Lyre.
Lyre also raced into Blue Diamond Stakes contention with a win at double figure odds in the Group 2 $200,000 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Prelude (Fillies) (1100m) at Caulfield on the same day as the Colts and Geldings prelude.
Trainer Jason Warren is hoping his filly Brooklyn Hustle will take plenty of experience out of another visit to Caulfield on Tuesday morning and is looking forward to a first class performance from her after running fifth to Lyre in the Blue Diamond Prelude for the fillies.
Beau Mertens was aboard Brooklyn Hustle for her initial win at The Valley on December 1 and will be back aboard the filly replacing Ben Melham who was in the saddle at Caulfield.
Ciaron Maher and David Eustace will saddle up Bella Rosa (Linda Meech) and Loving Gabby (Damian Lane) and the Lindsay Park Team will also have two runners in Lankan Star (Damien Oliver) and Andrassy Avenue (Luke Nolen).
Early betting for the Blue Diamond Stakes at Ladbrokes.com.au has Loving Gabby at the top of the market order at $4.80 ahead of the James Cummings trained Athiri at $5.50 and Brooklyn Hustle at $7.
Betting for the 2019 Blue Diamond Stakes at Ladbrokes.com.au: $4.80 Loving Gabby, $5.50 Athiri, $7 Brooklyn Hustle, $8 I Am Immortal, $10 Shotmaker, Catch Me, Lyre, $15 Hawker Hurricane, $17 Bella Rosa, $19 Andrassy Avenue, $21 Free Of Debt, $26 Vinicunca, $34 Lankan Star, $61 Game Keeper.
Final field for 2019 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m)
| No | Last 10 | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | I AM IMMORTAL | Anthony Freedman | Ben Melham | 56.5kg |
| 2 | 1×3 | HAWKER HURRICANE | Michael Moroney | Mark Zahra | 56.5kg |
| 3 | 11 | FREE OF DEBT Super Vobis Bonus Scheme | Chris Bieg | Michael Walker | 56.5kg |
| 4 | 2 | SHOTMAKER | Mick Price | Hugh Bowman | 56.5kg |
| 5 | 441 | GAME KEEPER | Tony McEvoy | Barend Vorster | 56.5kg |
| 6 | 1×10 | CATCH ME | Peter & Paul Snowden | Dwayne Dunn | 54.5kg |
| 7 | 511 | LYRE Super Vobis Bonus Scheme | Anthony Freedman | Luke Currie | 54.5kg |
| 8 | 1×2 | VINICUNCA | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Stephen Baster | 54.5kg |
| 9 | 1×2 | BELLA ROSA | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | Ms Linda Meech | 54.5kg |
| 10 | 1 | LOVING GABY | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | Damian Lane | 54.5kg |
| 11 | 1×3 | ATHIRI | James Cummings | Craig Williams | 54.5kg |
| 12 | 2×14 | LANKAN STAR Super Vobis Bonus Scheme | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Damien Oliver | 54.5kg |
| 13 | 1×5 | BROOKLYN HUSTLE Super Vobis Bonus Scheme | Jason Warren | Beau Mertens | 54.5kg |
| 14 | 71 | ANDRASSY AVENUE | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Luke Nolen | 54.5kg |
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