Damien Oliver would like to add to his haul of 123 Australian Group 1 wins and thinks he has the horse to do it in the Blue Diamond Stakes.
Perth two-year-old Brave Halo was selected as Oliver’s hope to give the jockey a second win in Melbourne’s premier juvenile contest which this year is being run at Sandown on Saturday.
First run in 1971, only once previously has the Blue Diamond been run away from Caulfield, that was in 1996 when Paint scored down the Flemington straight.
Oliver claimed his sole Blue Diamond success in 2004 when he partnered Alinghi for Lee Freedman.
Unbeaten in his first three starts in Perth, Brave Halo had his first Melbourne run when fourth behind Barber and Little Brose in the Blue Diamond Prelude (1100m) at Sandown on February 11.
Brave Halo did not get a clear crack at his rivals that day from barrier 3, but he has drawn barrier 16 on Saturday which creates a different scenario for Oliver.
“He didn’t have a lot of room last time, but he’s got a bad draw this time,” Oliver said.
“I think the fact that he finished so close to Barber last time without a lot of room, shows that he’s up to the favoured runners.”
The Blue Diamond is a wide-open race as indicated by the market.
The Ciaron Maher & David Eustace -trained Steel City heads betr’s market at $4.20 ahead of Barber at $5.50 with Brave Halo on the next line at $7.50.
The market illustrates Oliver’s opinion that there is no standout two-year-old this season.
“I don’t think there is a standout amongst them, they seem a good competitive bunch of two-year-olds,” Oliver said.
Saturday’s race, run on the Lakeside course, also will add a new dimension to the race.
The Blue Diamond Preludes were run on the Hillside track out of the chute.
To combat the new track, trainers Sean and Jake Casey took advantage of taking Brave Halo to Sandown during the week to get a look at the Lakeside circuit.
Oliver partnered the colt in the workout.
“They all get out to 1200 metres for the first time also,” Oliver said.
“Lakeside is going to be a different track to Hillside out of the chute, so we’ll see what happens.”