Trainer Anthony Freedman has locked in his riders for his two runners in the Group 1 $1.5m Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield on February 23.

Jockey Ben Melham and I Am Immortal, above, will stick together in the 2019 Blue Diamond Stakes at Caulfield. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos.

Jockey Ben Melham and I Am Immortal, above, will stick together in the 2019 Blue Diamond Stakes at Caulfield. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos.

Ben Melham will stick with I Am Immortal in the Group 1 for the two year olds after they combined for a solid win in the Group 3 $200,000 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Prelude (C&G) (1100m) at Caulfield last Saturday.

The Freedman stable was also successful in the fillies’ version of the Blue Diamond Prelude with the Godolphin owned Lyre causing an upset win at the good odds of $26.

Damian Lane was in the saddle on the weekend but Luke Currie will take over the reins in the Blue Diamond Stakes.

The Freedman stable has reported via twitter the both the colt and the filly have come through their runs in great style and are set to take their place in the $1.5m race for the juveniles.

“Both horses have pulled up terrific from their victories on Saturday and will be ready to peak for the Group One feature in 12 days time,” Freedman Racing said on Twitter.

Both the Freedman youngsters are marked at $7 on the fourth line of betting for the Blue Diamond Stakes at Ladbtokes.com.au with I Am Mortal firming in from $9 while Lyre was a big shortener, firming in from $26 after her boilover win last Saturday.

The Ciaron Maher and David Eustace trained Loving Gaby sits at the top of the Blue Diamond Stakes market order at $4 ahead of James Cummings’s filly Athiri at $5 and Brooklyn Hustle at $6.50.

Athiri and Brooklynn Hustle both finished behind Lyre in the Blue Diamond Prelude in third and fifth positions respectively while Loving Gaby is the winner of her only race start in the Group 3 $160,000 Ladbrokes Chairman’s Stakes (1000m) at Caulfield on February 2.

Early betting for the 2019 Blue Diamond Stakes at Ladbrokes.com.au: $4 Loving Gaby, $5 Athiri, $6.50 Brooklyn Hustle, $7 I Am Immortal, Lyre, $9 Shotmaker, $11 Catch Me, $13 Hawker Hurricane, Shih Tzou, $15 Bella Rosa, Jedastar, Vinicunca, $21 Accession, Free Of Debt, McLaren, $26 Amercement, Anaheed, Lanigera, Lankan Star, Sizzlefly, $34 Bivouac, Brazen Brando, $41 or better the rest.

About The Author

Mark Mazzaglia

Mark is a passionate journalist with a life-time involvement in the racing industry. He spent many years as an analyst and form expert at the Courier Mail and also has hands-on experience working with some of Queensland’s top trainers.