Valliano has had his odds trimmed for the Blue Diamond Stakes after an impressive first-up win at Caulfield.
The David Hayes and Tom Dabernig trained two-year-old firmed from $51 to $21 for the two-year-old feature following his dominant performance in the Inglis Premier on Saturday.
Valliano
Having his first run following a gelding operation, Valliano will head into the Blue Diamond Stakes at Caulfield on February 27 without another run.
Backed from $7.50 into $6 on Saturday, Valliano, under the guidance of Damian Lane, scored a 2-1/2 length win from Curvature ($7.50) with Lessyd ($15) a half-length away third.
“He did everything right today,” Dabernig said.
“He was in a lovely position and hit the line full of running and ran out a strong 1200 metres.”
Dabernig said Valiano was a professional two-year-old, just like the Mick Price-trained Extreme Choice, the earlier winner of the Chairman’s Stakes and the Blue Diamond favourite.
But Dabernig is not shying away from tackling Extreme Choice.
“Mick’s sat right on the pace and was an impressive winner,” Dabernig said.
“Not that I’m a great authority on Blue Diamonds. David is more than I am, but we’ve had more luck with a horse that settles and gets a cart into it.
“The Blue Diamond is a high-pressure race and horses that sit on the pace under pressure can come unstuck.”
