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The Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes is the top Group 1 for two-year-olds held during the Melbourne Autumn Racing Carnival at Caulfield Racecourse in late February.
2018 Blue Diamond Stakes Results
- 1st: #2 Written By
- 2nd: #10 Enbihaar
- 3rd: #16 Oohood
Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes News
- Miss Fabulass and Fiesta to clash again in 2018 Flight Stakes
- Sunlight sits at top of the 2018 Golden Rose Stakes order of entry
- Golden Slipper winner Estijaab among 2018 Thousand Guineas nominations
- Catchy to head Lindsay Park Team in 2018 Robert Sangster Stakes
- Written By Is The 2018 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes Winner
The Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes is Victoria’s premier sprint race for two year old horses, offering an unmatched $1.5 million in prize money.
The Group 1 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes is held at Melbourne’s Caulfield Racecourse each February during the Melbourne Autumn Racing Carnival and is run over a sprint distance of 1200m.
As a set-weights race the colts and geldings in the Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes field are required to carry 55.5kg and fillies must carry 53kg. The winner of the Blue Diamond Stakes takes home $900,000 in prize money plus a trophy worth $15,000.
The Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes Day features a total of three elite level autumn races being accompanied on the card by the Group 1 Futurity Stakes (1400m) and Group 1 Oakleigh Plate (1100m).
The 2018 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes ran at Caulfield Racecourse on Saturday February 24, 2018 and was won by the favourite Written By.
| 2018 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes | |
|---|---|
| Date: | Saturday February 24, 2018 |
| Racecourse: | Caulfield Racecourse |
| Distance: | 1200m |
| Race Type: | 2YO Set Weight |
| Status: | Group 1 |
| Prize Money: | $1,500,000 |
2018 Blue Diamond Stakes Results
- 1st: #2 Written By
- 2nd: #10 Enbihaar
- 3rd: #16 Oohood
See below for the official Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes 2018 Results & Finishing Order, following the link to read more on the dominant win by the well-supported favourite Written By who had two and a half lengths to spare on the second placed filly Enbihaar, both coming off respective Blue Diamond Prelude wins.
| Place | # | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Br. | Weight | SP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | WRITTEN BY | Grahame Begg | Jordan Childs | – | 15 | 56.5kg | $5.50F |
| 2 | 10 | ENBIHAAR | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Cory Parish | 2.5L | 16 | 54.5kg | $21 |
| 3 | 16 | OOHOOD | Tony McEvoy | Luke Currie | 2.7L | 9 | 54.5kg | $9 |
| 4 | 4 | PRAIRIE FIRE | Mick Price | Mark Zahra | 3.95L | 1 | 56.5kg | $8.50 |
| 5 | 6 | ENCRYPTION | James Cummings | Damian Lane | 4.05L | 12 | 56.5kg | $13 |
| 6 | 17e | ARISTOCRATIC MISS | Tony McEvoy | Jamie Kah | 4.55L | 14 | 54.5kg | $101 |
| 7 | 15 | QAFILA | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Dwayne Dunn | 5.3L | 13 | 54.5kg | $20 |
| 8 | 12 | LADY HORSEOWNER | Greg Eurell | Ms Nikita Beriman | 8.05L | 10 | 54.5kg | $51 |
| 9 | 13 | ENNIS HILL | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Stephen Baster | 8.8L | 3 | 54.5kg | $7.50 |
| 10 | 18e | MORE THAN EXCEED (NZ) | Phillip Stokes | Dom Tourneur | 8.9L | 7 | 56.5kg | $61 |
| 11 | 11 | KINKY BOOM | Tony McEvoy | Craig Williams | 9.65L | 11 | 54.5kg | $9 |
| 12 | 1 | LONG LEAF | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Kerrin McEvoy | 11.15L | 6 | 56.5kg | $8.50 |
| 13 | 9 | GRAND SYMPHONY Robbie Griffiths | Jye McNeil | 12.9L | 4 | 56.5kg | $101 | |
| 14 | 8 | PLAGUE STONE | James Cummings | Ben Melham | 13L | 5 | 56.5kg | $8.50 |
| 15 | 3 | RUN NAAN | Tony McEvoy | Andrew Mallyon | 13.1L | 2 | 56.5kg | $31 |
| 16 | 14 | CROSSING THE ABBEY | Tim Hughes | Luke Nolen | 16.6L | 8 | 54.5kg | $101 |
| – | 20e | MELVEEN | Henry Dwyer | Damien Thornton | – | 0 | – | – |
| – | 19e | ROOBEENA | Tony McEvoy | – | – | 0 | – | – |
| – | 7 | NATIVE SOLDIER | Darren Weir | Brad Rawiller | – | 0 | – | – |
| – | 5 | OLLIVANDER | Mathew Ellerton & Simon Zahra | Chris Symons | – | 0 | – | – |
2018 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes Tips
- 1st: #13 Ennis Hill
- 2nd: #4 Prairie Fire
- 3rd: #1 Long Leaf
Check out our full 2018 Blue Diamond Stakes Tips & Exotic Selections now.
2018 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes Form Guide
Check out our insider Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes 2018 Form Guide & Betting Preview.
2018 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes Betting Odds
The futures markets for the Blue Diamond Stakes field 2018 courtesy of the race sponsor Ladbrokes.com.au will be listed below with all-in pricing on the hopeful two-year-olds heading towards the autumn Group 1 classic as soon as announced.
2018 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes Field
The official Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes field and barrier draw are released by Racing Victoria the Tuesday before the race.
The Blue Diamond Stakes field is determined after three rounds of earlier declarations that take place from November of the year before. Final Blue Diamond Stakes acceptances cost connections a fee of $5,500.
The Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes Final Field & Barriers are set for release at 9am (local time) on Tuesday February 20, 2018.
The official Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes 2018 Field has attracted a capacity line-up of two-year-olds including four for last year’s winning stable with the Lindsay Park contingent led by Long Leaf and the BD Fillies Prelude winner Enbihaar. Trainer Darren Weir saddles-up his first Blue Diamond starter with Native Soldier, while jockey Craig Williams chases successive wins jumping on the Tony McEvoy-trained co-favourite Kinky Boom.
Read more on the confirmed 2018 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes Horses & Jockeys.
The official Blue Diamond Stakes 2018 Barrier Draw is also now out with the rails run belonging to last Saturday’s Talindert Stakes winner Prairie Fire on the quick back-up. Suffering an early blow with a wide alley for the classic were the Prelude winners Written By (18) and Enbihaar (19). Long Leaf is now co-favourite with Plague Stone after the duo fared well in barriers seven and six respectively.
Read more on the official 2018 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes Barriers.
2018 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes Field Update: Two early scratchings from the line-up – #5 Ollivander (3) and the widely-drawn Darren Weir-trained #7 Native Soldier (20) – sees the first two emergencies gain a start in the still capacity 16 horse Blue Diamond Stakes 2018 field.
| # | Form (Last 10) | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Barrier | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11×1 | LONG LEAF | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Kerrin McEvoy | 7 | 56.5kg |
| 2 | 1×1 | WRITTEN BY | Grahame Begg | Jordan Childs | 18 | 56.5kg |
| 3 | 11×35 | RUN NAAN | Tony McEvoy | Andrew Mallyon | 2 | 56.5kg |
| 4 | 31 | PRAIRIE FIRE | Mick Price | Mark Zahra | 1 | 56.5kg |
| 5 | 120 | OLLIVANDER | Mathew Ellerton & Simon Zahra | Chris Symons | 3 | 56.5kg |
| 6 | 32×2 | ENCRYPTION | James Cummings | Damian Lane | 15 | 56.5kg |
| 7 | 56113 | NATIVE SOLDIER | Darren Weir | Brad Rawiller | 20 | 56.5kg |
| 8 | 2×2 | PLAGUE STONE | James Cummings | Ben Melham | 6 | 56.5kg |
| 9 | 2 | GRAND SYMPHONY | Robbie Griffiths | Jye McNeil | 5 | 56.5kg |
| 10 | 11 | ENBIHAAR | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Cory Parish | 19 | 54.5kg |
| 11 | 1 | KINKY BOOM | Tony McEvoy | Craig Williams | 14 | 54.5kg |
| 12 | 11 | LADY HORSEOWNER | Greg Eurell | Ms Nikita Beriman | 12 | 54.5kg |
| 13 | 41 | ENNIS HILL | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Stephen Baster | 4 | 54.5kg |
| 14 | 4×126 | CROSSING THE ABBEY | Tim Hughes | Luke Nolen | 9 | 54.5kg |
| 15 | 14x | QAFILA | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Dwayne Dunn | 16 | 54.5kg |
| 16 | 2×32 | OOHOOD | Tony McEvoy | Luke Currie | 10 | 54.5kg |
| 17e | 3×332 | ARISTOCRATIC MISS | Tony McEvoy | Jamie Kah | 17 | 54.5kg |
| 18e | 2×1 | MORE THAN EXCEED (NZ) | Phillip Stokes | Dom Tourneur | 8 | 56.5kg |
| 19e | 2×65 | ROOBEENA | Tony McEvoy | TBA | 13 | 54.5kg |
| 20e | 61 | MELVEEN | Henry Dwyer | Damien Thornton | 11 | 54.5kg |
2018 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes Nominations
The very first Blue Diamond Stakes nominations close around early July the previous year.
The 2018 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes nominations attracted a record 1470 early entries that can be found on the official Melbourne Racing Club (MRC) website.
2018 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes First Declarations
Helping to narrow down the list of youngsters heading towards the Group 1 of the following February, the Blue Diamond Stakes first declarations or first acceptances close the November prior and traditionally feature around 500 – 600 youngsters.Connections are charged a $330 fee at first acceptance stage in the Blue Diamond Stakes, which is the same cost of the nominations of yearlings for the classic.
The 2018 Blue Diamond Stakes first acceptances closed at midday (local time) on Tuesday November 21, 2017.
View the 2018 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes First Declarations on the official Melbourne Racing Club (MRC) website.
2018 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes Second Declarations
The Blue Diamond Stakes field begins to take further shape when the Blue Diamond Stakes second declarations or acceptances close in early January, around one and a half months before Blue Diamond Stakes Day. Blue Diamond second declarations cost connections a $440 fee.
The 2018 Blue Diamond Stakes second acceptances closed at midday (local time) on Tuesday January 9, 2018.
The 2018 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes Second Acceptances attracted 220 hopefuls including Magic Millions 2YO Classic fancy Sunlight and a record 26 entries for last year’s winning stable Lindsay Park including pre-race favourite Qaflia.
Read more on the 2018 Blue Diamond Stakes Second Declarations.
2018 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes Third Declarations
The third round of Blue Diamond Stakes declarations are the last before the final Blue Diamond Stakes field is announced the week of the race. Blue Diamond Stakes third declarations cost connections a fee of $660 and close in late January.
After third declarations but before the final field is released, connections have a final chance to enter their horses into the Blue Diamond Stakes field the Monday before the race at a hefty late entry fee of $55,000.
The 2018 Blue Diamond Stakes third acceptances closed at midday (local time) on Tuesday January 30, 2018.
The official Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes 2018 Third Acceptances attracted a record-equalling 84 entries including Lindsay Park’s Blue Diamond C&G Preview winner Long Leaf and Tony McEvoy’s promising filly Oohood.
Read more on the 2018 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes Third Declarations.
Blue Diamond Stakes History & Records
First run in 1971 and won by Tolerance, the Blue Diamond Stakes went on to be claimed by sprinting champion Manikato in 1978.
Adding to the list of recent Blue Diamond Stakes records was jockey Dwane Dunn who managed his fourth consecutive win in the classic with Reaan in 2008 after winning with Sleek Chassis (2007), Nadeem (2006) and Undoubtedly (2005).
David Hayes has trained six Blue Diamond Stakes winners (since 1983) with: Mahassin (1990), Canonise (1991), Nadeem (2006), Sleek Chassis (2007) and Reaan (2008) along with Catchy (2017) in partnership with his son Ben and nephew Tom Dabernig.
See below for a full list of Blue Diamond Stakes winners and placegetters going back to 2000.
Recent Blue Diamond Stakes
| Year | Place | Horse | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 Blue Diamond Stakes |
1st | TBD | TBD |
| 2nd | TBD | ||
| 3rd | TBD | ||
| 2018 Blue Diamond Stakes |
1st | Written By | 1 minute 9.86 seconds |
| 2nd | Enbihaar | ||
| 3rd | Oohood | ||
| 2017 Blue Diamond Stakes |
1st | Catchy | 1 minute 09.38 seconds |
| 2nd | Pariah | ||
| 3rd | Formality | ||
| 2016 Blue Diamond Stakes |
1st | Extreme Choice | 1 minute 8.9 seconds |
| 2nd | Flying Artie | ||
| 3rd | Zamzam | ||
| 2015 Blue Diamond Stakes |
1st | Pride Of Dubai | 1 minute 10.5 seconds |
| 2nd | Reemah | ||
| 3rd | Lake Geneva | ||
| 2014 Blue Diamond Stakes |
1st | Earthquake | 1 minute 09.87 seconds |
| 2nd | Jabali | ||
| 3rd | Cornrow | ||
| 2013 Blue Diamond Stakes |
1st | Miracles Of Life | 1 minute 09.76 seconds |
| 2nd | Fast ‘N’ Rocking | ||
| 3rd | Godiva Rock | ||
| 2012 Blue Diamond Stakes |
1st | Samaready | 1 minute 10.4 seconds |
| 2nd | No Looking Back | ||
| 3rd | Armed for Action | ||
| 2011 Blue Diamond Stakes |
1st | Sepoy | 1 minute 8.5 seconds |
| 2nd | Hallowell Belle | ||
| 3rd | Masthead | ||
| 2010 Blue Diamond Stakes |
1st | Star Witness | 1 minute 10.4 seconds |
| 2nd | Shaaheq | ||
| 3rd | Beneteau | ||
| 2009 Blue Diamond Stakes |
1st | Reward For Effort | 1 minute 9.8 seconds |
| 2nd | Real Saga | ||
| 3rd | Maka Ena | ||
| 2008 Blue Diamond Stakes |
1st | Reaan | 1 minute 11.4 seconds |
| 2nd | All American | ||
| 3rd | Burgeis | ||
| 2007 Blue Diamond Stakes |
1st | Sleek Chassis | 1 minute 9.8 seconds |
| 2nd | Zizou | ||
| 3rd | Shrewd Rhythm | ||
| 2006 Blue Diamond Stakes |
1st | Nadeem | 1 minute 12 seconds |
| 2nd | Miss Finland | ||
| 3rd | Wonderful World | ||
| 2005 Blue Diamond Stakes |
1st | Undoubtedly | 1 minute 8.9 seconds |
| 2nd | Seidnazar | ||
| 3rd | Perfectly Ready | ||
| 2004 Blue Diamond Stakes |
1st | Alinghi | 1 minute 9.8 seconds |
| 2nd | Wager | ||
| 3rd | World Peace | ||
| 2003 Blue Diamond Stakes |
1st | Kusi | 1 minute 11 seconds |
| 2nd | Halibery | ||
| 3rd | Divine Secret | ||
| 2002 Blue Diamond Stakes |
1st | Bel Esprit | 1 minute 9.2 seconds |
| 2nd | Brief Embrace | ||
| 3rd | Pillaging | ||
| 2001 Blue Diamond Stakes |
1st | True Jewels | 1 minute 9 seconds |
| 2nd | La Lagune | ||
| 3rd | Spectatorial | ||
| 2000 Blue Diamond Stakes |
1st | Road To Success | 1 minute 9.8 seconds |
| 2nd | Ponton Flyer | ||
| 3rd | Mannington | ||
