Blue Diamond Stakes

The Blue Diamond Stakes – 1200m

Date: Saturday 25th Feburary 2023
Time: 4:20 AEDT
Prize Money: 1.5 million AUD

The 3-year-old feature race at the Magic Millions Carnival is set at a 1400m distance with a whopping $2 million prize pool up for grabs. The race will be a restricted listed race requiring the runners to compete under a set weight, as well as penalties conditions. 

The prize money for the Magic Millions 3YO Guineas (All-In) 2023 at the Gold Coast Turf Club is as follows:

The above listed prize money is an estimate of the Blue Diamond Stakes’ distribution of its winnings. We have already discussed in other parts of the review about the increase in prize money post-2015 Blue Diamond Stakes, so go check out the ‘Race History of the Blue Diamond Stakes’ section of this Blue Diamond Stakes review for more fun facts!

The field for the Blue Diamond Stakes is yet to be finalised although pre-nominations are well underway and avid Australian horse racing fans have some inkling of who will be lining up to start the 2023 Blue Diamond Stakes. Below is a list of the current favourites for the 2023 Blue Diamond Stakes:

Please Note: All odds are provided by PlayUp.

It is also worth noting that the prices of some of these horses for the 2023 Blue Diamond Stakes will drop as the race time gets closer due to the field being finalised. It is likely very beneficial to lock in your favourite runners early in order to ensure the best price on your fixed bets for the Blue Diamond Stakes on February 25th. 

We have undertaken to break down some of our favourite runners for this year’s Blue Diamond Stakes and provide some way-too-early betting picks from the field. As usual at OnlyRacing, I will denote a best bet, a next best bet, as well as a roughie pick. Be sure to tune in to OnlyRacing tips nearly every day to ensure you don’t miss out on our weekly best bets and other tips. 

Don Corleone – EARLY BEST BET
Don Corleone is a Randwick based two-year-old colt who is one of the favourites coming into the Blue Diamond Stakes for 2023. He is a career 1-0-0 runner after claiming victory in Randwick’s $150,000 2y Hcp on the 21st of January 2023. Peter and Paul Snowden have done a great job in preparing Don Corleone for the 2023 Blue Diamond Stakes so if you are a fan of the runner, lock in those early odds before they drop!

Kings Gambit – EARLY NEXT BEST
Kings Gambit is also close to the top in terms of odds for the 2023 Blue Diamond Stakes. Boasting a career 1-1-0 record, the two-year-old colt is also trained by Peter and Paul Snowden. Claiming nearly $150,000 AUD after just two career races, Kings Gambit is looking to swoop in for the biggest victory of his young career.

Learning to Fly – EARLY ROUGHIE PICK
For the life of me I do not understand why Learning to Fly is over double the odds of both Don Corleone and Kings Gambit at this stage before the 2023 Blue Diamond Stakes. Trained by Annabel Neasham out of Warwick Farm, Learning to Fly is a career 1-0-0. The sole victory, and sole race of Learning to Fly’s career thus far came in the 2023 Widden Stakes at Rosehill Racecourse back on January 28. 

Where to Bet on the Blue Diamond Stakes
Perhaps the biggest decision you as a punter will make on the day of the Blue Diamond Stakes is what bookie will you place your bets with. To gain some in-depth insights into Australian bookmakers and what specifically they can offer you, see our bookmakers review page for a full list of pros and cons for every single Australian or International bookmaker available in the country.

The easiest method to use in deciding what bookmaker to use for the Blue Diamond Stakes is to compare the odds of you preferred selection across a wide range of bookmakers.

For example, if you like my best bet for the Blue Diamond Stakes in the form of Don Corleone, and Ladbrokes is offering $5 whilst Bet365 is offering $5.50, you will take that extra 50c and place your fixed bet for the Blue Diamond Stakes with Bet365.

We have included pros and cons for five of our favourite bookies to bet with for the Blue Diamond Stakes below. Visit OnlyRacing’s bookmaker reviews pages for a detailed review of these five bookmakers.

Betting on the Blue Diamond Stakes successfully usually requires an analysis of a wide range of punting markets. This is our recommendation but I have no doubt some of you may be lucky picking just the winner of the 2023 Blue Diamond Stakes. Below is a list of suggestions for markets to bet on for the Blue Diamond Stakes:

-    Fixed Win/Place bets on the best and your favourite runner/s in the 2023 Blue Diamond Stakes.
-    Exotic bets in the form of Exacta/Quinella/Trifecta/First Four to cover all your bases and favourite runners in the Blue Diamond Stakes this year.
-    Quaddies and multi bets across the entirety of the February 25th meet at Caulfield Racecourse to include the Blue Diamond Stakes runners, as wel as runners from other races at Caulfield Racecourse that day.

Ultimately, if you want actual tips for the 2023 Blue Diamond Stakes, you can scroll up to the ‘The Feature Race – The 2023 Blue Diamond Stakes’ portion of this 2023 Blue Diamond Stakes preview to see our early picks. Alternatively, you can visit our OnlyRacing tips on the week of the race to see more analysis for our betting picks.

Having first run in 1971, the Blue Diamond Stakes has been held annually ever since at the world famous Caulfield Racecourse. Lower down in this preview of the Blue Diamond Stakes we will talk at length about the previous winners of the Blue Diamond Stakes and how they fared outside of the meet. 

But to provide a brief list of some of Australia’s best ever race horses that have won the previous iterations of the prestigious two-year-old weight adjusted race, see below:
-    Manikato
-    Sepoy
-    Redoute’s Choice

That list is but a few of the greatest runners to ever win the Blue Diamond Stakes. The ‘Previous Winners of the Blue Diamond Stakes’ portion of this Blue Diamond Stakes preview is below. Alternatively, click the hyperlink above to jump straight to a list and explanation of the previous winners of the Blue Diamond Stakes.

The history of the Blue Diamond Stakes is rich with stories and famous winners but there are a couple of fun facts about the race to provide a bit more colour to its history:

-    Since 1971 the Blue Diamond Stakes has been held at Caulfield Racecourse every year… except this year and in 1996 when the famous racetrack was under construction, so the Blue Diamond Stakes was hosted by Flemington Racecourse for that edition.
-    Although the distance of the Blue Diamond Stakes has always been consistent in its measure of approximately 1200m, for the first two years of the Blue Diamond Stakes (1971 and 1972) the race was officially listed as a 6 furlong trip. Whilst this is very close to 1200m in length, the Blue Diamond Stakes was formally changed to be exactly 1200m going forward
-    Many of Australia’s greatest trainers and jockeys have competed in the Blue Diamond Stakes. However, no trainer has been more successful than David Hayes at the Blue Diamond Stakes, boasting 5 total wins to his name. Similarly, jockey Dwayne Dunn has held the reigns for 4 wins at the Blue Diamond Stakes, more than any other jockey.
-    In 1994, Hurricane Sky put the world on notice as the speedster claimed victory in the Blue Diamond Stakes at Caulfield Racecourse in the quickest time ever of 1 minute and 8 seconds (1:08.1). Incredibly, there has not been a horse that has competed in the Blue Diamond Stakes since that has eclipsed that time.
-    The Blue Diamond Stakes’ prestige was given a boost in 2016 as the prize money was increased indefinitely for all future iterations of the Blue Diamond Stakes. Prize money before 2016 totalled $1 million AUD, which was increased to $1.5 million AUD going forward.

The Blue Diamond Stakes has been won by some of Australia’s greatest racers. We, at OnlyRacing, have compiled a list of all the victors at Caulfield Racecourse’s prestigious two-year-old weight conditioned race, the Blue Diamond Stakes. 

In relation to the Blue Diamond Stakes, I have mentioned ad nauseum about the ‘weight conditions’, but what does that truly mean? Well, put simply, the Blue Diamond Stakes requires colts and geldings to be no more than 56.5 kgs going into the race, whereas fillies are capped at 54.5 kgs for the Blue Diamond Stakes. 

With that in mind, have a scroll through some of the previous winners of the Blue Diamond Stakes and see if you can spot any familiar names amongst the pack.

• 2022 - Daumier
• 2021 - Artorius
• 2020 - Tagaloa
• 2019 - Lyre
• 2018 - Written By
• 2017 - Catchy
• 2016 - Extreme Choice
• 2015 - Pride Of Dubai
• 2014 - Earthquake
• 2013 - Miracles Of Life
• 2012 - Samaready
• 2011 - Sepoy
• 2010 - Star Witness
• 2009 - Reward For Effort
• 2008 - Reaan
• 2007 - Sleek Chassis
• 2006 - Nadeem
• 2005 - Undoubtedly
• 2004 - Alinghi
• 2003 - Kusi
• 2002 - Bel Esprit
• 2001 - True Jewels                 
• 2000 - Road To Success
• 1999 - Redoute's Choice
• 1998 - Danelagh
• 1997 - Knowledge
• 1996 - Paint
• 1995 - Principality
• 1994 - Hurricane Sky
• 1993 - Lady Jakeo
• 1992 - Riva Diva
• 1991 - Canonise
• 1990 - Mahaasin
• 1989 - Courtza
• 1988 - Zeditave
• 1987 - Midnight Fever
• 1986 - Bounding Away
• 1985 - Let's Get Physical
• 1984 - Street Cafe
• 1983 - Love A Show
• 1982 - Rancher
• 1981 - Black Shoes
• 1980 - Aare
• 1979 - Star Shower
• 1978 - Manikato
• 1977 - Blazing Saddles
• 1976 - Out Of Danger
• 1975 - Lord Dudley
• 1974 - Forina
• 1973 - New Gleam
• 1972 - John's Hope
• 1971 – Tolerance

If you were paying close attention to the list of Blue Diamond Stakes victors above, you would have seen 2019 and 2018’s winners emboldened. I found these wins to be notable and wanted to touch on them a bit more to provide extra colour to this preview of the Blue Diamond Stakes. Additionally, below these two Blue Diamond Stakes race summaries, there is information on notable winners before the year 2015. 

So, if you truly weren’t satiated by the ‘Race History of the Blue Diamond Stakes’ section of this Blue Diamond Stakes preview, see below for even more historical information on the race.

Blue Diamond Stakes 2019 Winner - Lyre
In 2019’s edition of Caulfield Racecourse’s premier two-year-old Group 1 race, the Blue Diamond Stakes, Lyre was the victor. This two-year-old Colt won the Blue Diamond Stakes in rather convincing fashion, beating out his next best opposition by over a length! For a 1200m race this is quite incredible. 

The colt Lyre was jockeyed by one of Australia’s finest in the form of Craig Williams. Coming into the 2019 Blue Diamond Stakes, Lyre had just won the Group 2 race known as the Preview Stakes at Caulfield (also held at Victoria’s Caulfield Racecourse) which really put his name on the map. 

Following Lyre’s win in 2019 Blue Diamond Stakes, he went on to win several Australian Group 1 races with some considering him a major contender for the bigger races.

Blue Diamond Stakes 2018 Winner - Written By
In 2018, the Blue Diamond Stakes saw the most successful jockey in the Blue Diamond Stakes’ history claim his fourth and most recent victory in the feature race for two-year-olds at Caulfield Racecourse. He was jockeying Written By, a colt trained by Grahame Begg. 

An interesting fact about Written By was that he was on a hat-trick going into 2018’s Blue Diamond Stakes, completing the task in a comprehensive two length victory. In that win, Written By established himself as one of, if not the top two-year-old runner in the Australian horse racing scene.

Similarly, to Lyre a year later, Written By went on to win many Group 1 races on Australia’s horse racing circuit, using the Blue Diamond Stakes victory as a platform to catapult himself into some of the biggest races in the nation.

Winners of Note at the Blue Diamond Stakes Before 2015
As I have previously mentioned, the Blue Diamond Stakes has an extensive list of notable winners that have seen some of the best and longest careers in Australian horse racing. A few of these notable superstar Australian horses that have won the Blue Diamond Stakes at Caulfield Racecourse include Sepoy in 2011, Shamardal in 2005, as well as Redoute’s Choice in 1999, and Snippets in 1987.

A notable winner of the Blue Diamond Stakes that is considered by many to be one of the top sprint racers Australia has ever seen was Manikato in 1979’s edition of the Blue Diamond Stakes. Even almost 45 years on from Manikatio’s victory as a two-year-old at the Blue Diamond Stakes, he is still regarded as one of, if not the best sprinter Australia has produced.
We have spoken about the truly loaded history of the Blue Diamond Stakes, and its ability to elevate strong two-year-old runners to superstardom in a matter of minutes. The stories of these notable winners and the names they bring to the table is really a testament to the Blue Diamond Stakes and its prestige as one of the Australian racing calendar’s top events.