Defcon Set For Blue Diamond Stakes

Magic Millions Classic winner Capitalist will not contest the 2016 Blue Diamond Stakes at Caulfield on February 27, but Team Snowden are still set to have one of the leading contenders in the race in the form of Defcon.

Paul Snowden is chasing another Blue Diamond Stakes victory with Defcon. Photo by: Sarah Ebbett

Paul Snowden is chasing another Blue Diamond Stakes victory with Defcon. Photo by: Sarah Ebbett

Defcon stamped himself as a horse to follow when he produced an outstanding performance in a barrier trial at Royal Randwick on September 21, but Team Snowden elected not to give the two-year-old a race start in 2015 and he was sent to the spelling paddock before he returned with a soft trial behind Hostwin Legend at Rosehill Gardens on January 4.

The Choisir colt is one of several talented horses that is set to contest the Rosehill Gardens barrier trials on Tuesday morning and co-trainer Paul Snowden told Radio TAB that the juvenile will likely make his racing debut in the Group 3 Blue Diamond Prelude (1100m) at Caulfield on February 13 before he contests the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) at the same venue on February 27.

“He is a gross horse, he is down to trial again on Tuesday and we will go from there,” Snowden said.

“He is on a Blue Diamond preparation, so he will probably campaign down in Melbourne.

“I don’t think he will run in three, he isn’t a horse that needs a three leg Diamond preparation.

“You will probably see him in the Prelude.”

Defcon is yet to come out and do it on race day, but Snowden is confident that the horse is good enough to be competitive in the Blue Diamond Stakes and like their star two-year-old Capitalist, he believes that Defcon has a great deal of upside in front of him

“He is a completely different type of horse,” Snowden said.

“He is a nice horse, he has speed and he is very strong.

“It is a similar thing to Capitalist – we don’t know what he has got left because we have always hung on to him in his trials and in his work.

“It is quite exciting.”

Team Snowden are chasing their third straight victory in the Blue Diamond Stakes after taking out the past two editions of the race with Earthquake (2014) and Pride Of Dubai (2015).

Defcon is currently available at 2016 Blue Diamond Stakes odds of $9 with Ladbrokes and he is on the third line of betting behind Mick Price-trained Extreme Choice ($6) and Godolphin-owned Astern ($7).

About The Author

Thomas Hackett

Thomas is a passionate and opinionated racing journalist and punter who has been obsessed with horse racing since he backed Saintly to win the 1996 Melbourne Cup. An international racing enthusiast, he has his finger on the pulse of racing news not just from Australia but all around the world.