The Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes is always one of the highlights of the Melbourne Festival Of Racing and the 2017 edition of the race is set to be no exception.
There really isn’t a great deal in between any of the runners in the Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes betting and the likes of Catchy, Pariah, Property, Formality, Jukebox and Tulip are all available at single-figure odds.
This is one of the most competitive editions of the Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes in recent memory, but we have done all the hard work for you and you can find our thoughts on every single runner below.
Property
Property has recorded two wins from his past two starts ahead of the Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes. Photo by: Ultimate Racing Photos
Connections elected to pay the late-entry fee to get Property into the Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes field following his narrow victory in the Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Prelude at Caulfield on February 11. Property won both the Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Preview and Blue Diamond Prelude for colts and geldings and simply off those two victories he must be considered in this race. He has improved each time that he has been seen at the races and I suggest that he will need to improve again to beat the likes of Catchy, who beat him by 2.5 lengths on debut. The Starcraft gelding is in the race, but has probably found his right price.
Azazel
Azazel was thereabouts in the both the Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Preview and Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Prelude, but he looks a level below the main contenders in this race. I couldn’t have him at the current price.
Jukebox
Jukebox has recorded two wins from as many starts, but the jury is still out over the quality of those wins. He did the job comfortably in the Inglis Premier, but the time coming out of that race was slow and that form looks to have no depth whatsoever. He will face a challenge for the lead from Formality and he looks overrated by the market ahead of the Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes.
Pariah
Pariah has the chance to give Team Snowden another win in the Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes. Photo by: Steve Hart
Team Snowden have an outstanding record in the Blue Diamond Stakes and Pariah goes into this race with every possible chance. He ran excellent time when he made his racing debut with a win in the Canonbury Stakes and he found the line strongly to finish a close second behind Property in the Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Prelude. There is no doubt that he will take plenty of benefit from that performance and the way that he found the line suggests that he is one of the horses in this field that will have no problems running out a strong 1200 metres. The Redoute’s Choice colt is deserving of his place as equal favourite.
Wait For No One
Wait For No One is in the opposite box to Pariah as he is a horse that profiles like he may struggle to run out a strong 1200 metres. He is another horse that will likely press forward in the early stages of the race and there is no way that he will get as soft a lead as he did in the Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Prelude. I just can’t see him running out the 1200 metres strongly and it would not surprise if he finished towards the tail of the field.
Aspect
Aspect won the Maribyrnong Plate on debut, but he was very poor when he returned to the races with a seventh place finish in the Ladbrokes Chairman’s Stakes at Caulfield on February 4. It is impossible to back him in the Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes on the back of that effort.
Cao Cao
Cao Cao is at double-figure odds to give Mick Price back-to-back wins in the Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes. Photo by: Ultimate Racing Photos
Cao Cao is another horse that comes out of the Maribyrnong Plate and that form hasn’t been particularly strong. He was handily beaten by Property and Pariah in the Blue Diamond Prelude and it is hard to see him finding the improvement that would be required to win this race.
Taking Aim
Taking Aim is on the quick back-up after he finished a close second behind Ducimus in the Talindert Stakes at Flemington last weekend. He is a tough horse to assess as he brings a different form line into this race, but he does have a progressive profile and you always need to respect Team Snowden in the Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes. He is the best roughie in this field.
Muraahib
Muraahib steps up in class substantially after recording wins at Morphettville and Sale. His starting price profile in his two race wins suggest that he is a horse with a fair amount of ability and he did gap his rivals last start. I would be following any betting moves and if the money continues to come I would start getting interested.
Will’s Bid
He is one of the extreme outsiders in the Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes field for a reason. He had excuses in the Blue Diamond Prelude, but he was still entitled to do better.
Catchy
Catchy will go into the Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes as one of the favourites. Photo by: Ultimate Racing Photos
Catchy remains the horse to beat in the Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes, but her task has been made tougher by the wide barrier draw. I was somewhat sceptical of her ability following her first two race wins, but there was plenty of merit in her Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Prelude victory. The way that she found the line suggests that she will have no problems making the step-up to 1200 metres. Her final 200 metres was the most eye-catching part of her race, but she also ran the quickest last 400 metres, 600 metres, 800 metres and 1000 metres in the race, which is a sign of a very talented filly. She will get a long way back from the wide barrier draw and Craig Williams will have to get going a long way from home, but she is capable of sustaining a very long run and will take some holding out.
Formality
Formality is another unbeaten runner from the Lindsay Park stable and she goes into the Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes as a leading contender. She is one of the toughest horses in this race to analyse as she did not contest the Blue Diamond Prelude or Blue Diamond Preview, but was clearly too strong for her rivals in the Ladbrokes Chairman’s Stakes. The time they ran in that race was not particularly strong, but she does have a great deal of upside and the booking of Ryan Moore is a positive. The step-up to 1200 metres is the main concern and she will likely face plenty of competition for the lead.
Tulip
Tulip has been freshened up ahead of the 2017 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes and she has not been seen at the races since she was narrowly denied by Limestone in the Blue Diamond Preview at Caulfield on Australia Day. The form coming out of that race has stacked up well and the freshen-up may be exactly what she needed to make the improvement that will be required to win this race. A good horse for the exotics.
Spoils
She was a level below the leading chances in the both the Preview and the Prelude and the wide barrier draw doesn’t make her job any easier.
Roomooz
Roomooz is a filly heading in the right direction and her performance in the Blue Diamond Prelude behind Catchy was better than it looks on paper. It is tough to see her turning-the-tables on Catchy, but it wouldn’t surprise if she ran a better race than the current price suggests.
Blondie
Blondie heads into the Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes on the back of a speedy victory over 1000 metres at Moonee Valley. She is a horse that does have plenty of speed, but his is a very big step-up in class and the pressure will be on from the outset.
Sheer Madness
Sheer Madness is the first emergency in the 2017 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes field and will required a scratching to earn a start. He has done nothing to suggest during his racing career to date that he is up to this class.