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The Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Prelude Colts & Geldings is a Group 3 race for two-year-old males held at Caulfield Racecourse* in February during the Melbourne Autumn Racing Carnival.

*In 2023 the 2023 Blue Diamond Colts & Geldings Prelude and C.F. Orr Stakes Day card ran at Ladbrokes Park Hillside, Sandown. 

The event is contested over a short sprint distance of 1100m and offers $300,000 in prize money to the winner. A set weights race, the Blue Diamond Colts & Geldings Prelude is held on CF Orr Stakes Day. The meeting kicks off Group 1 racing for the year with the running of the Group 1 CF Orr Stakes (1400m).

CF Orr Stakes Day is home to a host of other early autumn Group status races including the Group 2 Autumn Stakes (1400m), Group 2 Rubiton Stakes (1100m) and the Group 2 Blue Diamond Fillies Prelude (1100m), which is the fillies’ equivalent of the Blue Diamond Prelude (C&G).

Many juveniles in the Blue Diamond Prelude field for colts and geldings will have previously run in the Listed Blue Diamond Preview (1000m) in late January. In recent years, the Blue Diamond Preview – Blue Diamond Prelude double has been achieved by: I Am Immortal (2019), Hanseatic (2020) and General Beau (2021). The race is the traditional lead-up to the Group 1 $1.5 million Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) held a fortnight later.

Recent winners of the Blue Diamond Prelude (C&G) – Blue Diamond Stakes double include Written By (2018), Sepoy (2011) and Bel Esprit (2002). Pride Of Dubai (2015) also recently improved on a Prelude second to win the Blue Diamond Stakes.

In 2020 the Blue Diamond Prelude winner Hanseatic came off a lead-up win in the Blue Diamond Preview and went on to run second in that year’s Blue Diamond Stakes results.

The next year, Anamoe ran second in the Blue Diamond Prelude before a third in the Blue Diamond Stakes trifecta and subsequent second in the Group 1 Golden Slipper Stakes in Sydney. Anamoe also won that autumn’s Group 1 ATC Sires’ Produce Stakes and returned for a stellar spring headlined by a Group 1 Caulfield Guineas victory and second in the Group 1 Cox Plate back in Melbourne.

The 2022 Blue Diamond Prelude C&G form was franked with the winner Lofty Strike going on to run fourth that spring in the Group1  Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) down the Flemington straight. The Blue Diamond Prelude third place-getter Daumier further franked the form with his next-up win in that year’s Blue Diamond Stakes results before fourths in the Golden Slipper Stakes and Inglis Sires’ in Sydney behind gun filly Fireburn.

The Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Prelude (Colts & Geldings) 2023 ran on Saturday February 11, 2023 at Ladbrokes Park Hillside, Sandown and was won in a strong first-up performance by Barber ($4) from the Godolphin stable. 

2023 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Prelude (C&G)
Date:	Saturday February 11, 2023
Track:	Caulfield Racecourse (Ladbrokes Park Hillside, Sandown in 2023)
Distance:	1100m
Race Type:	Set Weights
Status:	Group 3
Prize Money:	$300,000

2023 Blue Diamond Prelude (C&G) Results

• 1st: #1 Barber ($4)
• 2nd: #2 Little Brose
• 3rd: #4 Corniche

The returning James Cummings-trained $1 million Golden Gift winner Barber ($4) retained his unbeaten record with a terrific win fresh in the Blue Diamond Prelude 2023 results with improvement to come ahead of the Group 1 in a fortnight.

Click here to read more on the strong win by Barber in the Blue Diamond Prelude (C&G) 2023 results.

2023 Blue Diamond Prelude (C&G) Results & Finishing Order

	Finish	No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Margin	Bar.	Weight	Penalty	Starting Price
	1	1	BARBER	James Cummings	Ms Jamie Kah		7	57kg		$4
	2	2	LITTLE BROSE	Ben & JD Hayes	Michael Dee	0.3L	4	57kg		$7.50
	3	4	CORNICHE	James Cummings	Blake Shinn	1.05L	1	57kg		$14
	4	3	BRAVE HALO	Sean & Jake Casey	Damien Oliver	1.15L	3	57kg		$2.80F
	5	11	AMIGO	Peter G Moody	Luke Nolen	2.15L	5	57kg		$7.50
	6	10	FIRE FOLLOWER	Anthony & Sam Freedman	Ben Melham	4.65L	6	57kg		$61
	7	7	GANGITANO	Amy & Ash Yargi	Craig Williams	5.15L	2	57kg		$9
	8	12	PEERLESS LAD	Phillip Stokes	Zac Spain	7.9L	11	57kg		$31
	9	5	SOME PEOPLE CALLME	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Ben Allen	8.1L	10	57kg		$31
	10	8	TARABEAU	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Jordan Childs	8.5L	9	57kg		$21
	11	9	GOODES	Anthony & Sam Freedman	Daniel Moor	11.5L	8	57kg		$81
		6	SCORSESE	Peter G Moody	Daniel Stackhouse		0

Table Credit: Racing Australia. 

2023 Blue Diamond Prelude (C&G) Betting Odds

The best Blue Diamond Colts & Geldings Prelude 2023 odds and betting links to the markets will be found below the week of CF Orr Stakes Day so stay tuned.

Hanseatic ($2.30 in 2020) followed by General Beau ($3.10 in 2021) are the latest Blue Diamond Prelude Colts & Geldings favourites to salute for the punters.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST 2023 BLUE DIAMOND PRELUDE C&G ODDS (Final Field)

2023 Blue Diamond Colts & Geldings Prelude Form Guide

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2023 BLUE DIAMOND PRELUDE C&G FORM GUIDE

2023 Blue Diamond Colts & Geldings Prelude Tips

Stay tuned for our insider Blue Diamond Prelude Colts & Geldings 2023 Tips on the important Blue Diamond lead-up this autumn.

• To Win: #3 Brave Halo ($3.40 at time of publish) – BET NOW

Going to tip the Perth raider here to keep the wins going with a fourth career success from as many starts. Sean & Jake Casey’s Brave Smash colt has been flawless at home winning three straight last prep at Ascot. His latest back in November was a runaway victory by over five lengths at this distance. Presents fresh here and ready to fire over east looking to make an impact in Melbourne. Ideal barrier three draw and Damien Oliver to aid his chances.

2023 Blue Diamond Colts & Geldings Prelude Field

The Blue Diamond Prelude for colts & geldings field is made up of a host of Blue Diamond Stakes-bound youngsters and is released by Racing Victoria on the Wednesday before CF Orr Stakes Day.

The official 2023 Blue Diamond Colts & Geldings Prelude Field and Barriers are set for release on Wednesday February 8, 2023 and will be listed in full below.

The Blue Diamond Prelude 2023 for colts and geldings features a quality final field of young juveniles led in betting by Godolphin’s undefeated $1 million Golden Gift winning colt Barber chasing a third career win fresh from gate seven.

No	Last 10	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Penalty	Hcp Rating
1	11x	BARBER	James Cummings	Ms Jamie Kah	7	57kg		84
2	21x	LITTLE BROSE	Ben & JD Hayes	Michael Dee	4	57kg		72
3	111x	BRAVE HALO	Sean & Jake Casey	Damien Oliver	3	57kg		73
4	32	CORNICHE	James Cummings	Blake Shinn	1	57kg		67
5	2	SOME PEOPLE CALLME	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Ben Allen	10	57kg		63
6	3	SCORSESE	Peter G Moody	Daniel Stackhouse	12	57kg		64
7	3x	GANGITANO	Amy & Ash Yargi	Craig Williams	2	57kg		67
8	6×2	TARABEAU	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Jordan Childs	9	57kg		61
9	5	GOODES	Anthony & Sam Freedman	Daniel Moor	8	57kg		61
10	7	FIRE FOLLOWER	Anthony & Sam Freedman	Ben Melham	6	57kg		60
11		AMIGO	Peter G Moody	Luke Nolen	5	57kg
12		PEERLESS LAD	Phillip Stokes	Zac Spain	11	57kg

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

2023 Blue Diamond Colts & Geldings Prelude Nominations

The Blue Diamond Prelude (Colts & Geldings) 2023 nominations close on Monday February 6, 2023 and will be released below as soon as available.

	Last 10	Horse	Sex	Age	Trainer	Ballot	Weight	Penalty	Hcp Rating
1	11x	BARBER	C	2	James Cummings	1	57kg		84
2	1×2	KING’S GAMBIT	C	2	Peter & Paul Snowden	2	57kg		74
3	21x	LITTLE BROSE	C	2	Ben & JD Hayes	3	57kg		72
4	1	DON CORLEONE	C	2	Peter & Paul Snowden	4	57kg		67
5	111x	BRAVE HALO	C	2	Sean & Jake Casey	5	57kg		73
6	32	CORNICHE	C	2	James Cummings	6	57kg		67
7	4×2	HELLISH	C	2	Danny O’Brien	7	57kg		63
8	2	SOME PEOPLE CALLME	C	2	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	8	57kg		63
9	3	SCORSESE	G	2	Peter G Moody	9	57kg		64
10	3x	GANGITANO	C	2	Amy & Ash Yargi	10	57kg		67
11	6×2	TARABEAU	C	2	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	11	57kg		61
12	5	GOODES	C	2	Anthony & Sam Freedman	12=	57kg		61
13	5	HIGH KING	C	2	Michael Freedman	12=	57kg		60
14	7	FIRE FOLLOWER	C	2	Anthony & Sam Freedman	14	57kg		60
15		AMIGO	C	2	Peter G Moody	15=	57kg
16		CAPE BYRON	C	2	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	15=	57kg
17		PEERLESS LAD	C	2	Phillip Stokes	15=	57kg
18		PIVOT CITY	C	2	Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr)	15=	57kg
19		SUPERSONIC SURGE	C	2	Matt Laurie	15=	57kg
20		THE RELUCTANT STAR	C	2	Dean Binaisse	15=	57kg

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

Blue Diamond Colts & Geldings Prelude History

The Blue Diamond (Colts & Geldings) Prelude has been run and won since 1982. The inaugural winner was Rancer and since then a host of quality two-year-olds have taken out the race including Lonhro (2011), Sepoy (2011), Flying Artie (2016) and Written By (2018).

The race began as a Listed event and has held its Group 3 status since 1986. For one year in 1996 the Blue Diamond Prelude C&G ran at Sandown Racecourse instead of its traditional home at Caulfield.

In 2023 the race will again run at Ladbrokes Park Hillside at Sandown.

Recent Blue Diamond Prelude Winners (Colts & Geldings)

See below for a full list of the Blue Diamond Prelude (C&G) winners and results going back to 2000.

Year	Place	Horse	Time
2023 Blue Diamond Prelude C&G	1st	Barber	1 minute 3.99 seconds
	2nd	Little Brose
	3rd	Corniche
2022 Blue Diamond Prelude C&G	1st	Lofty Strike	1 minute 3.98 seconds
	2nd	Semillion
	3rd	Daumier
2021 Blue Diamond Prelude C&G	1st	General Beau	1 minute 3.58 seconds
	2nd	Anamoe
	3rd	Jigsaw
2020 Blue Diamond Prelude C&G	1st	Hanseatic	1 minute 3.08 seconds
	2nd	Rulership
	3rd	Rathlin
2019 Blue Diamond Prelude C&G	1st	I Am Immortal	1 minute 4.44 seconds
	2nd	Shotmaker
	3rd	Hawker Hurricane
2018 Blue Diamond Prelude C&G	1st	Written By	1 minute 04.98 seconds
	2nd	Plague Stone
	3rd	Native Soldier
2017 Blue Diamond Prelude C&G	1st	Property	1 minute 03.78 seconds
	2nd	Pariah
	3rd	Wait For No One
2016 Blue Diamond Prelude C&G	1st	Flying Artie	1 minute 3.0 seconds
	2nd	Star Turn
	3rd	China Dream
2015 Blue Diamond Prelude C&G	1st	Of The Brave	1 minute 3.6 seconds
	2nd	Pride Of Dubai
	3rd	Sampeah
2014 Blue Diamond Prelude C&G	1st	Rubick	1 minute 3.7 seconds
	2nd	Jabali
	3rd	Chivalry
2013 Blue Diamond Prelude C&G	1st	Kuroshio	1 minute 4.0 seconds
	2nd	The Bowler
	3rd	Dissident
2012 Blue Diamond Prelude C&G	1st	General Rippa	1 minute 4.1 seconds
	2nd	Rusambo
	3rd	Ferment
2011 Blue Diamond Prelude C&G	1st	Sepoy	1 minute 3.0 seconds
	2nd	Running Tall
	3rd	Huegill
2010 Blue Diamond Prelude C&G	1st	Beneteau	1 minute 2.5 seconds
	2nd	General Truce
	3rd	The Greatandthegood
2009 Blue Diamond Prelude C&G	1st	Real Saga	1 minute 3.7 seconds
	2nd	Reward For Effort
	3rd	Starspangledbanner
2008 Blue Diamond Prelude C&G	1st	Wilander	1 minute 3.9 seconds
	2nd	Exceedingly Good
	3rd	Minnesota Shark
2007 Blue Diamond Prelude C&G	1st	Shrewd Rhythm	1 minute 3.4 seconds
	2nd	Zizou
	3rd	Victory Chant
2006 Blue Diamond Prelude C&G	1st	Due Sasso	1 minute 3.4 seconds
	2nd	Wonderful World
	3rd	Swinging Bachelor
2005 Blue Diamond Prelude C&G	1st	Perfectly Ready	1 minute 3.9 seconds
	2nd	The Rhine
	3rd	Bradbury’s Luck
2004 Blue Diamond Prelude C&G	1st	Way West	1 minute 3.4 seconds
	2nd	Oratorio
	3rd	Sanziro
2003 Blue Diamond Prelude C&G	1st	Hammerbeam	1 minute 3.7 seconds
	2nd	Murphy’s Blu Boy
	3rd	Scaredee Cat
2002 Blue Diamond Prelude C&G	1st	Bel Esprit	1 minute 5.2 seconds
	2nd	Cool Trent
	3rd	Step Ahead
2001 Blue Diamond Prelude C&G	1st	Lonhro	1 minute 3.3 seconds
	2nd	Niewand
	3rd	Tosamba
2000 Blue Diamond Prelude C&G	1st	Happy Giggle	1 minute 4.6 seconds
	2nd	Lord Dane
	3rd	Sparks