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The Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes is Victoria’s premier sprint race for two year old horses, offering $2 million in prize money as of 2023.

The Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes is traditionally held at Melbourne’s Caulfield Racecourse* each February during the Melbourne Autumn Racing Carnival and is run over a sprint distance of 1200m.

*In 2023 the Blue Diamond Stakes Day program ran at Sandown’s Ladbrokes Park Lakeside course. 

As a set-weights race the colts and geldings in the Blue Diamond Stakes field are required to carry 55.5kg and fillies must carry 53kg. The winner of the Blue Diamond Stakes takes home $1.2 million in prize money plus a trophy worth $15,000.

The 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 2022 Blue Diamond Stakes form was franked with the third place-getter Jacquinot going on to win the Group 1 Golden Rose Stakes (1400m) in Sydney during the spring.

The 2022 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes ran at Ladbrokes Park Lakeside (Sandown) on Saturday February 25, 2023 offering an unprecedented $2 million in prize money and was won by the Ben & JD Hayes-trained Little Brose ($9.50).  

2022 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes
Date:	Saturday February 25, 2023
Racecourse:	Ladbrokes Park Lakeside (Sandown)
Distance:	1200m
Race Type:	2YO Set Weight
Status:	Group 1
Prize Money:	$2,000,000

2022 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes Results

The Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes 2022 results will be published below as soon as the $2 million feature takes place on Saturday February 25, 2023.

• 1st: #4 Little Brose ($9.50)
• 2nd: #8 Don Corleone
• 3rd: #2 Arkansaw Kid

The Ben & JD Hayes-trained Per Incanto colt Little Brose ($9.50) improved on his second in the Prelude producing an excellent run to dominate the 2023 Blue Diamond Stakes results with a one-length win to hand the Lindsay Park stable with a 10th success in the feature. Little Brose defeated Peter & Paul Snowden’s Extreme Choice colt Don Corleone ($10), while the Hayes-trained roughie Arkansaw Kid ($61) was huge in third.

	Finish	No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Margin	Bar.	Weight	Penalty	Starting Price
	1	4	LITTLE BROSE	Ben & JD Hayes	Michael Dee		7	57kg		$9.50
	2	8	DON CORLEONE	Peter & Paul Snowden	Mark Zahra	1L	3	57kg		$10
	3	2	ARKANSAW KID	Ben & JD Hayes	Jye McNeil	1.2L	4	57kg		$61
	4	5	BRAVE HALO	Sean & Jake Casey	Damien Oliver	1.4L	15	57kg		$8
	5	16	EXTREME THREAT	Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr)	Blaike McDougall	2.15L	2	55kg		$26
	6	13	DUBENENKO	Chris Bieg	Dean Yendall	2.25L	10	55kg		$101
	7	9	EXPLORING	James Cummings	Craig Williams	2.45L	12	55kg		$16
	8	6	THE INSTRUCTOR	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Jordan Childs	2.65L	6	57kg		$9.50
	9	1	BARBER	James Cummings	Ms Jamie Kah	2.85L	9	57kg		$5F
	10	3	ZULFIQAR	James Cummings	Ben Melham	2.95L	14	57kg		$18
	11	11	PARTY FOR TWO	Damien Batters	Nikita Beriman	3.35L	1	55kg		$26
	12	12	STEEL CITY	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Blake Shinn	3.55L	5	55kg		$5.50
	13	17e	SENSICAL	Peter G Moody	Daniel Stackhouse	3.75L	11	55kg		$16
	14	15	PICKY	Leon & Troy Corstens	Damien Thornton	4.25L	16	55kg		$151
	15	10	DE SONIC BOOM	Anthony & Sam Freedman	Daniel Moor	6L	8	55kg		$61
	16	7	VEECEE	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Ethan Brown	8L	13	57kg		$14
		18e	BEAUTY RISING	Phillip Stokes			0
		14	CIGAR FLICK	Chris Waller	Craig Newitt		0

Table Credit: Racing Australia. 

2022 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes Betting Odds

The futures markets for the Blue Diamond Stakes field 2022 courtesy of 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.

There was a notable upset in 2022 with the winner Daumier saluting at Blue Diamond Stakes odds of $20.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST 2023 LADBROKES BLUE DIAMOND STAKES ODDS (Final Field)

2022 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes Form Guide

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2023 LADBROKES BLUE DIAMOND STAKES FORM GUIDE

2022 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes Tips

Stay tuned for our insider Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes tips for 2022 with the top three two-year-olds to back home in the Group 1 autumn classic.

CLICK HERE FOR OUR FULL 2023 BLUE DIAMOND STAKES TIPS & BEST BETS

The Favourite: #12 Steel City ($4.20 at time of publish) 

The money has come hard and fast for this Maher/Eustace-trained filly who has a gun barrier five draw at her third start chasing win number one. Her debut was strong when runner-up after an on-speed run throughout at Rosehill over 1100m. She was only three-quarters of a length beaten behind Red Resistance and finished second again last time out in the Group 3 Widden Stakes. The question is always whether to follow the Sydney or Melbourne form lines into the Blue Diamond. The Widden form was franked with Learning To Fly going on to also win the Inglis Millennium. Good gate and definite winning chance again.

The Danger: #1 Barber ($5.50 at time of publish) 

Powerhouse Godolphin stable won both Preludes here a fortnight ago and now their undefeated Exceed And Excel colt Barber is out to do the double for the first time since Written By (2018). Two Sydney wins last prep to kick off his career in style including overcome a wide alley in the $1 million Golden Gift. Very good fresh narrowly holding out the challengers in the Group 3 Prelude over 1100m on the Hillside track. Needs to handle the Lakeside course now. Jamie Kah is riding well and stays on, barrier nine looks ideal for the one-time favourite, is from the right team and if he can improve on his first-up performance could remain unbeaten come Saturday afternoon.

Each Way: #4 Little Brose ($11 at time of publish) 

If you like the Prelude form from the colts’ and geldings’ then you have to have something on the brave runner-up Little Brose. The Ben & JD Hayes-trained Per Incanto colt was runner-up on debut with 58kg in the Group 3 Maribyrnong Plate at Flemington last November before winning Caulfield’s Listed Merson Cooper Stakes over Cylinder convincingly. Looks to have come back well only a quarter-length off Barber fresh. Michael Dee knows him well and will get a gun ride from barrier seven. Can showup and challenge late again.

Best Bet: #7 Veecee ($20 at time of publish) 

On the drift in the markets out to $20 at time of publish is Veecee who now looks enormous value as one of the forgotten Blue Diamond horses this year. Wider draw (14) is not ideal for the course and jockey Ethan Brown will need to get his ride right, but if hoop and horse can work together, they could have something special in store. Stablemate to the favourite so you know Maher/Eustace must rate this nicely-bred Capitalist colt some kind of chance. Winner on debut with 59kg by 2.5 lengths at Flemington over 1100m, so the 1200m looks a non-issue. Second in the Group 3 Chairman’s Stakes (1000m) on the Sandown Hillside track last time out with the same weight at the start of the month when on speed but not that flash the closing stages. Kept fresh for this and can improve. Will relish the drop in weight. Can surprise if he brings back his debut form.

Best Roughie: #16 Extreme Threat ($23 at time of publish) 

Looking over the fillies here this daughter of Extreme Choice for Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr) stands out as a potential value roughie. She gets the run of the race from barrier two and could be a sharp improver having just her second career start. On debut she went around at 40/1 in the Blue Diamond Fillies’ Prelude and was better than her odds suggested running third to Exploring. This is a big ask for a filly off that against a field of better tried two-year-olds, but for the price she’s worth having a little something on.

2022 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes Field

The official 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 2023 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes Final Acceptances close at 9am (local time), Wednesday the 22nd of February, 2023. 

The Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes 2023 final field is now out with Godolphin’s Prelude winning colt Barber chasing his fourth win from as many starts narrow favourite in the capacity line-up of two-year-olds.

The official Blue Diamond Stakes 2023 barrier draw was conducted by Racing Victoria on Tuesday afternoon with Barber and Steel City both faring well with barriers 9 and 5 respectively.

Click here to read more on the key runners in the 2023 Blue Diamond Stakes field and betting markets.

• 2023 Blue Diamond Stakes Scratchings Update: Widely-drawn filly #14 Cigar Flick (18) from the Chris Waller stable has been scratched.

No	Last 10	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Penalty	Hcp Rating
1	11×1	BARBER	James Cummings	Ms Jamie Kah	9	57kg
2	1×0	ARKANSAW KID	Ben & JD Hayes	Jye McNeil	4	57kg
3	15×1	ZULFIQAR	James Cummings	Ben Melham	15	57kg
4	21×2	LITTLE BROSE	Ben & JD Hayes	Michael Dee	7	57kg
5	111×4	BRAVE HALO	Sean & Jake Casey	Damien Oliver	16	57kg
6	11	THE INSTRUCTOR	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Jordan Childs	6	57kg
7	12	VEECEE	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Ethan Brown	14	57kg
8	14	DON CORLEONE	Peter & Paul Snowden	Mark Zahra	3	57kg
9	141	EXPLORING	James Cummings	Craig Williams	13	55kg
10	10	DE SONIC BOOM	Anthony & Sam Freedman	Daniel Moor	8	55kg
11	3112	PARTY FOR TWO	Damien Batters	Nikita Beriman	1	55kg
12	22	STEEL CITY	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Blake Shinn	5	55kg
13	463×1	DUBENENKO	Chris Bieg	Dean Yendall	11	55kg
14	145	CIGAR FLICK	Chris Waller	Craig Newitt	18	55kg
15	25	PICKY	Leon & Troy Corstens	Damien Thornton	17	55kg
16	3	EXTREME THREAT	Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr)	Blaike McDougall	2	55kg
17e	34	SENSICAL	Peter G Moody	Daniel Stackhouse	12	55kg
18e	27	BEAUTY RISING	Phillip Stokes		10	55kg

The very first Blue Diamond Stakes nominations of yearlings close in August the previous year.

View the 2022 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes Nominations on the official Melbourne Racing Club (MRC) website.

The 2023 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes nominations attracted 1544 yearlings and can be viewed in full here. 

2022 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.

View the 2022 Blue Diamond Stakes First Declarations on the official Melbourne Racing Club (MRC) website.

2022 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.

2022 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 2023 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes third acceptances closed on January 31, 2023 attracting 106 early entries including Godolphin’s $1 million Golden Gift winner Barber, Group 3 placed Merchant Navy filly Steel City and the Team Snowden-trained King’s Gambit.

	Last 10	Horse	Sex	Age	Trainer	Hcp Rating
1	2×7	ADITI	F	2	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott
2		ALLABOUTELLA	F	2	Michael Freedman
3		ALSONSO	C	2	Leon & Troy Corstens
4	11	AMUR	C	2	James Cummings
5		ANA JAAHZA	F	2	Ben & JD Hayes
6		ANTICKS	F	2	Shane Nichols
7	1x	ARKANSAW KID	C	2	Ben & JD Hayes
8		ATLANTIC SPIRIT	F	2	Dean Binaisse
9	11x	BARBER	C	2	James Cummings
10		BASES LOADED	C	2	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott
11	2x	BEAUTY RISING	F	2	Phillip Stokes
12		BEEN OUR ANGEL	C	2	Tony & Calvin McEvoy
13	41x	BELUGA EXPRESS	C	2	Ben & JD Hayes
14	13x	BLANC DE BLANC	F	2	Michael Freedman
15		BOVIDAE	C	2	Matt Laurie
16		BRAZEN STYLE	F	2	Shane Nichols
17		CAPITAL ROCK	F	2	Tony & Calvin McEvoy
18	3	CARNIVAL ROW	C	2	Tony & Calvin McEvoy
19	31x	CHARM STONE	F	2	Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr)
20	14	CIGAR FLICK	F	2	Chris Waller
21		COAST PRINCESS	F	2	Ben & JD Hayes
22	29×3	COINCIDE	C	2	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott
23	32	CORNICHE	C	2	James Cummings
24	1	DE SONIC BOOM	F	2	Anthony & Sam Freedman
25		DIVAKARA	C	2	Kacy Fogden
26	1	DON CORLEONE	C	2	Peter & Paul Snowden
27	31	DOROTHY GAIL	F	2	Annabel Neasham
28	463x	DUBENENKO	F	2	Chris Bieg
29	9	ELDERBERRY	F	2	Anthony & Sam Freedman
30	1×36	EMPIRE OF JAPAN	C	2	Peter & Paul Snowden
31	227	EMPRESS OF WONDER	F	2	Annabel Neasham
32	14	EXPLORING	F	2	James Cummings
33		EXTREME THREAT	F	2	Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr)
34	2	EXTREMELY WICKED	F	2	Matt Laurie
35		EYE OF EPAULETTE	F	2	Dean Binaisse
36		FIGHTER SMASH	C	2	Tony & Calvin McEvoy
37	7	FIRE FOLLOWER	C	2	Anthony & Sam Freedman
38		FOREVER MORE	F	2	Leon & Troy Corstens
39		FREAKOFNATURE	C	2	Jason Warren
40	3x	GANGITANO	C	2	Amy & Ash Yargi
41		GELATIN	C	2	Michael Freedman
42		GINGER ’N’ PINK	F	2	Peter G Moody
43	5	GOODES	C	2	Anthony & Sam Freedman
44		GUN	G	2	Michael Freedman
45	4×2	HELLISH	C	2	Danny O’Brien
46		HIDDEN MELODY	F	2	Simon Zahra
47	5	HIGH KING	C	2	Michael Freedman
48		IN PRINT	C	2	Tony & Calvin McEvoy
49	5	INVINCIBLE SHIELD	C	2	Leon & Troy Corstens
50	6	ITZA MOTZA	G	2	Peter G Moody
51		JEHBENTI	C	2	Shane Nichols
52	1×2	KING’S GAMBIT	C	2	Peter & Paul Snowden
53	61×6	KRAKARIB	C	2	Simon Zahra
54	2	KUNDALINI	F	2	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace
55	1	LEARNING TO FLY	F	2	Annabel Neasham
56	21x	LITTLE BROSE	C	2	Ben & JD Hayes
57	53x	LOS PADRES	C	2	James Cummings
58		LOVED UP LAWYER	C	2	Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr)
59	2x8x	MACH TEN	C	2	Michael Freedman
60		MADAM FLEISS	F	2	Shane Nichols
61	26x	MEXICO	C	2	Michael Freedman
62		MISS BURGOYNE	F	2	Ben & JD Hayes
63		MISS GABBIANO	F	2	Peter G Moody
64		MONEY TEAM	C	2	Kacy Fogden
65		MONT SAINT MICHEL	C	2	Shane Nichols
66	3	MUMBAI MUSE	F	2	Michael Freedman
67		MUST GO	G	2	Ben & JD Hayes
68	9	NAZORIAN	C	2	Kacy Fogden
69		NEBRASKAN	C	2	Kacy Fogden
70		PANO’S PRIDE	C	2	Dean Binaisse
71		PARIAH PEARL	F	2	Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young
72		PEERLESS LAD	C	2	Phillip Stokes
73	2×8	PERFECT PROPOSAL	F	2	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott
74		PERILOUS FIGHTER	C	2	Clayton Douglas
75	25	PICKY	F	2	Leon & Troy Corstens
76		PIVOT CITY	C	2	Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr)
77		PORTOROSA	F	2	Annabel Neasham
78		QUEEN STARLIGHT	F	2	Peter G Moody
79		REIGNING KING	C	2	Shane Nichols
80	14x	REMEDIES	F	2	James Cummings
81	41x	ROUSSILLON	C	2	James Cummings
82		ROVNO AMBER	C	2	Shane Nichols
83	3	SCORSESE	G	2	Peter G Moody
84	3	SENSICAL	F	2	Peter G Moody
85	1x	SERASANA	F	2	Robbie Griffiths & Mathew de Kock
86	3	SHINZO	C	2	Chris Waller
87	6x	SICILIAN	F	2	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott
88		SNOWMAN	C	2	Chris Waller
89		SOJU	F	2	Simon Zahra
90	22	STEEL CITY	F	2	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace
91		SUBRISING	F	2	Nigel Blackiston
92		SUPERSONIC SURGE	C	2	Matt Laurie
93		SUTHERLAND	F	2	Tom Dabernig
94		TACITO	C	2	Ben & JD Hayes
95	6×2	TARABEAU	C	2	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott
96		THE BELL JAR	F	2	Archie Alexander
97	11	THE INSTRUCTOR	C	2	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott
98		THE RELUCTANT STAR	C	2	Dean Binaisse
99		THE SENATE	C	2	Tony & Calvin McEvoy
100		THEODOR	C	2	Tony & Calvin McEvoy
101		TREASURWAY	F	2	Jason Warren
102	1	VEECEE	C	2	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace
103		WRITTEN BLIGH	F	2	Grahame Begg
104		WYMARK (NZ)	C	2	Michael Freedman
105	2	ZOUSUKO	F	2	John McArdle
106	15x	ZULFIQAR	C	2	James Cummings

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

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 Dwayne 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.

Anthony & Sam Freedman prepared three of the four Blue Diamond Stakes winners from 2019 – 2022 with Lyre (2019), Artorious (2021) and Daumier (2022).

See below for a full list of Blue Diamond Stakes winners and place-getters going back to 2000.

The 2023 Blue Diamond Stakes was moved from Caulfield to Sandown (Lakeside).

Recent Blue Diamond Stakes

Year	Place	Horse	Time
2023 Blue Diamond Stakes(Run at Sandown, Lakeside)	1st	Little Brose	1 minute 10.00 seconds
	2nd	Don Corleone
	3rd	Arkansaw Kid
2022 Blue Diamond Stakes	1st	Daumier	1 minute 09.76 seconds
	2nd	Revolutionary Miss
	3rd	Jacquinot
2021 Blue Diamond Stakes	1st	Artorius	1 minute 09.57 seconds
	2nd	Ingratiating
	3rd	Anamoe
2020 Blue Diamond Stakes	1st	Tagaloa	1 minute 08.56 seconds
	2nd	Hanseatic
	3rd	Personal
2019 Blue Diamond Stakes	1st	Lyre	1 minute 9.39 seconds
	2nd	Lankan Star
	3rd	Free Of Debt
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