The Blue Diamond Stakes remains an option for boom Sydney colt Wodeton, who was this week paid up as a third-round acceptor for Victoria’s premier two-year-old event.
The Melbourne Racing Club on Wednesday announced the 81 horses left in the running to contest the $2 million Group 1 at Caulfield on February 22 with the Chris Waller-trained son of Wootton Bassett among them.
Wodeton created a huge boom when winning by almost four lengths on debut at Rosehill on January 18, a victory that catapulted him to the head of Golden Slipper betting.
Waller said earlier this week that Wodeton ‘will probably go to the Silver Slipper’ for his next start, which is run in Sydney on Blue Diamond Day, but remaining in the acceptances keeps his options open with the $1.6 million Magic Millions yearling.
Wodeton is one of five hopes of becomfing Waller’s first Blue Diamond runner.
The Hall of Fame trainer’s only horse to feature in a Blue Diamond field is Cigar Flick, who was scratched from the 2023 edition.
United States and Fermoy are other Coolmore-owned seven-figure yearlings of Waller’s who remain in the entries for this year’s Diamond, with Portofino and Tropic his other entries.
Unraced Zoustar colt Tropic and Fermoy, another by Zoustar who has had one start for a third placing back in November, will run in Saturday’s $250,000 Group 3 Canonbury Stakes at Rosehill.
Brilliant fillies Preview winner My Gladiola, Magic Millions heroine O’ Ole, Cherish Me and Aleppo Pine are among the other high-profile third-round acceptors, the latter one of nine hopes at a fifth Blue Diamond win for Sheikh Mohammed.
Aleppo Pine and six of the other Godolphin youngsters are trained by Blue Diamond maiden James Cummings, who counts Tempted and Daphnes, who will both run this Saturday, among his other entries.
The only trainer with more possible starters than Cummings is Ciaron Maher, who is also yet to win a Blue Diamond and has Preview placegetter Wiltshire Square and one-time Magic Millions favourite Icarian Dream alongside Cherish Me in the entries.
The latter, an impressive winner of the Geelong Diamond on debut, will next run in the $300,000 Group 2 Blue Diamond Fillies Prelude at Caulfield on Saturday week with the Group 3 division for the colts and geldings to be run on the same day.
