Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes hopeful Defcon will kick off his campaign with a start in the Group 3 $150,000 Canonbury Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill on January 30.
Trainer Peter Snowden, above, has set Defcon for the Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes at Caulfield. Photo by Daniel Costello.
Co-trainers Peter and Paul Snowden have earmarked the Group 1 $1.5m Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield on February 27 for Defcon and the unraced two year old is currently on the second line of betting at $9 with Ladbrokes.com.au.
The Mick Price trained Extreme Choice heads the Blue Diamond Stakes market order at $6 with early season two year old winner Calliope sharing the $9 market with Defcon.
Defcon has shown the Snowdens plenty of ability to date and was able to easily win a 900m Rosehill barrier trial today with Hugh Bowman in the saddle.
“He is coming along nicely, we just thought kicking him off in Sydney is the right option and then he will head down for the (Blue Diamond) Prelude,” Peter Snowden said.
The Group 3 $200,000 Blue Diamond Prelude (1100m) for the colts and geldings is run at Caulfield on February 13.
The Choisir colt was sent for a spell after winning an 838m Randwick barrier trial back in September and today’s trial was his second one this time in work following a third over 900m at Rosehill on January 4.
Paul Snowden also likes the look of Defcon and can see the Blue Diamond Stakes as being a suitable race for the youngster.
“He is a nice horse, he has speed and he is very strong,” Paul Snowden told Racing Ahead.
“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.”
The Snowden trained Capitalist shot to the top of the Golden Slipper market order following his dominant win in the $2m Magic Millions 2yo Classic (1200m) at the Gold Coast on January 9.
A Blue Diamond Stakes run was ruled out for Capitalist with the Snowdens opting to set the Magic Millions 2yo Classic winner for the Group 1 $3.5m Longines Golden Slipper (1200m) at Rosehill on March 19 and have Defcon as their number one Blue Diamond Stakes candidate.
The Snowdens are aiming for their third Blue Diamond Stakes trophy in a row after winning with Earthquake in 2014 while training under the Darley banner and then claimed the prize again last year with Pride Of Dubai after the father and son partnership set up their own training establishment.
Blue Diamond Stakes favourite Extreme Choice made a huge impression on debut when he easily accounted for his opposition with a two lengths win in the $500,000 Inglis Nursery (1000m) at Randwick on December 12.
Early Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes market order at Ladbrokes.com.au: $6 Extreme Choice, $9 Calliope, Defcon, $15 Hell Of An Effort, $17 Astern, Concealer, Manolo Blahnig, $So Serene, $21 Mount Panorama, Tessera.
