Anthony and Sam Freedman have plenty of experience triumphing in Victoria’s top two-year-old event.
The training partnership of father and son claimed the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes at Caulfield courtesy of Artorius back in 2021, and repeated the feat the next year with Daumier.
For this campaign, they aim to qualify High Alert for the 1200m showdown on February 21, relying on a top-two placing in the Group 3 Blue Diamond Prelude (1100m) at Caulfield this Saturday.
The colt High Alert is gearing up for his second career start after placing fourth in the Blue Diamond Preview (1000m) at Caulfield on January 24.
In that outing, High Alert started from barrier one, got trapped on the rail, suffered a check late in the straight, yet stormed home strongly for fourth.
Sam Freedman along with rider Luke Currie thought about protesting the result but opted against it; crucially, High Alert emerged from the race unscathed.
Freedman noted the colt actually gained between five and six kilos in the week post-race, though the co-trainer admits High Alert requires some fortune to secure a spot in the Blue Diamond lineup.
“He’s probably going to have to run first two to get into the race I would say,” Freedman said.
“He’s going to be a proper horse in time.
“He put on weight, so it didn’t hurt him at all. He pulled up super and really, he ended up with a dash home.
“Hopefully he gets a bit of even luck, and we can see where he sits, but I don’t know if that’s the ‘A’ grade form.
“We’re always wary of the unlucky horse in a bad race, but he does work like a nice horse, so hopefully he can show it.”
Freedman mentioned that from the debut effort, the key takeaway was High Alert possesses a sharp burst of speed that can bail him out of tight spots.
“It was still enough of a run leading to the Blue Diamond,” Freedman said.
“The horse went off next to him in the gates, but that’s why he will be a nice horse, because nothing really fazes him.”
This Saturday, High Alert departs from barrier five in the field of eight, with Craig Williams aboard.
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The post High Alert to show Blue Diamond Stakes credentials first appeared on Just Horse Racing.
