Beaten Blue Diamond Stakes favourite Field Of Play is set to continue his career in Hong Kong, bypassing a shot at the Golden Slipper Stakes.
Co-trainer Trent Busuttin confirmed on Monday that the Blue Diamond Prelude winner will enter quarantine before relocating to Hong Kong instead of heading to Sydney for the prestigious two-year-old race.
“We’d like to have him around, but when they are owned in Hong Kong, it’s always on the cards one way or the other,” Busuttin said.
“It looked like we might get to Sydney, but the owner decided to go up to Hong Kong. He’s a very good horse, and he’ll go well there.”
It is understood that Field Of Play will be trained in Hong Kong by Dave Eustace, the former training partner of Ciaron Maher.
The colt impressed early in his career, winning at Moonee Valley before claiming victory in the Blue Diamond Prelude at Caulfield, where he defeated the eventual Blue Diamond Stakes winner Devil Night.
Connections paid a $55,000 late entry fee for him to contest the Blue Diamond Stakes, where he started as the $4 favourite but faded to finish sixth in extreme heat.
“On the day, he just couldn’t cope with the heat,” Busuttin said.
“He was beautiful and relaxed when I saddled him up, but as soon as he got out in the sun and the heat and away from the fans set up in the stables, he was really sweating, and he was like he’d already run his race.”
The Blue Diamond form has since proven to be among the strongest juvenile races of the season, with runner-up Tentyris claiming victory in the Todman Stakes, while third-placed Tycoon Star finished a close fourth in his Sydney debut.
Meanwhile, Blue Diamond Stakes winner Devil Night is expected to trial in Sydney later this week before a decision is made on whether he heads straight to the $5 million Golden Slipper Stakes on March 22.
