Williams Wins Blue Diamond Stakes on Catchy
Jockey Craig Williams had a choice of five mounts for Saturday’s $1.5 million Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes at Caulfield, but opted for Robert Crabtree’s Catchy. It proved a wise choice; the filly triumphed over an unfavourable barrier draw of 11 and a strong headwind to win the sprint, netting trainer David Hayes his fifth Blue Diamond victory.
At $4.80, Catchy started as second favourite in the 1200m Group 1 race for two-year-olds. The favourite was Pariah at $4.00, but Catchy came from 12th place to overhaul the colt by half a length at the finish line. Formality, another filly that was originally among Williams’ choice of mounts, ran third.
Black Heart Bart’s Fifth Group 1 Win
The 1400m Group 1 weight-for-age Italktravel Futurity Stakes, with a purse of $500,000, was run immediately prior to the Blue Diamond Stakes on Saturday.
Favourite at $1.90, Black Heart Bart, a 6-year-old gelding trained by Darren Weir and ridden by Brad Rawiller, made a late challenge from fifth to beat race leader and $17.00 outsider Tosen Stardom by a nose. This brings his Group 1 win tally to five; including the CF Orr Stakes two weeks earlier at Caulfield.
Tosen Stardom, a Japanese 6-year-old entire ridden by Williams, is also trained by Weir, and paid $4.00 for a place bet. Ecuador, the 7-year-old gelding trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, started at $10.00 for a win, but ran third for $2.10.
Sheidel’s Surprise Oakleigh Plate Triumph
The penultimate race of the Blue Diamond Stakes Day, the prestigious $500,000 Oakleigh Plate over 1100m, proved a disappointment for 3-year-old favourite Extreme Choice, who started at $3.80. The colt finished third, after 5-year-old mare Sheidel led from the start, and gave the training team of David and B Hayes and T Dabernig their second Group 1 win of the day.
Third favourite at $8.00 after fourth-placed Hellbent at $6.00, Sheidel only relinquished the lead for a moment on the race’s single turn, jostling for position with stablemate Faatinah. The 4-year-old gelding was a rank outsider at $41.00 and almost caused a huge upset, but Sheidel quickly reasserted her dominance, and Faatinah finished second by a length.
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After completing her degree, Jennie Martin began her journalism career by working as an intern on the entertainment pages. However, her passion for sport was quickly noticed, and she began covering local events.
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