Having prepared two of the past seven winners of the Blue Diamond Stakes trainer Mick Price knows what it takes to win Victoria’s premier race for juveniles at Caulfield.
On Saturday he is hopeful Shotmaker can overcome the outside draw and inexperience to make an impression in the $1.5 million Group One Blue Diamond Stakes for two-year-olds at his second start.
Price admits barrier 14 as a disadvantage for Shotmaker who stamped his Blue Diamond claims with his second behind I Am Immortal in the colts and geldings Prelude on debut last Saturday week.
“I would have loved him to have drawn inside six or seven and have a beautiful run in the race and get the right run at the right time,” Price said.
“But we’ll just have to make do with that.
“It is a disadvantage in my opinion, but it would be nice if we could tag the favourite Loving Gaby depending on what she did from barrier 12.”
Hugh Bowman has the ride on Shotmaker and Price believes the colt has come on since his debut.
“He’s going really well. I’m really happy with him,” Price said.
Price trained the quinella in 2016 when star colts Extreme Choice and Flying Artie cleared out from the field in the straight, with Extreme Choice winning by 1-3/4-lengths while Flying Artie beat the rest by more than four lengths.
Four years earlier Price won with filly Samaready.
“Those other two-year-olds – Flying Artie, Extreme Choice, Samaready – had a really big explosion of speed,” Price said.
“Shotmaker is a horse who can quicken, but I wouldn’t say he’s got the same explosive talent as them.
“It doesn’t mean he can’t win, but we probably just need the race to be run the right way and have plenty of speed on in the first half of the race anyway.”
