Short priced favourite Hanseatic has drawn the rails in the 2020 Group 1 $1.5m Ned Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield on Saturday.

Hanseatic, above in royal blue colours, has drawn the rails in the barrier draw for the 2020 Blue Diamond Stakes at Caulfield. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos.

Hanseatic, above in royal blue colours, has drawn the rails in the barrier draw for the 2020 Blue Diamond Stakes at Caulfield. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos.

Trainer Anthony Freedman and jockey Luke Currie are searching for back to back wins in the Blue Diamind Stakes with Hanseatic after the pair teamed up with Lyre to win the $1.5m feature for the two year olds twelve months ago.

Currie has ridden the undefeated Hanseatic in all of his three starts and is confident of keeping his unbeaten record intact in the Blue Diamond Stakes coming off a last start win in the Group 3 $200,000 Neds Blue Diamond Prelude (C&G) (1100m) at Caulfield on February 8.

“It would be a good effort but he’s in the right barn and he probably needed the experience of having another run last time in the Prelude,” Currie told AAP.

“So hopefully we can make it four in a row.

“He’s definitely the one to beat. I wouldn’t be swapping him for anything else.”

Hanseatic heads the Blue Diamond Stakes betting at Ladbrokes.com.au at $2.50 ahead of the Peter and Paul Snowden trained Rulership at $6 and Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young’s Letzbeglam at $8.

Rulership finished in the runners up stall behind Hanseatic in the Blue Diamond Stakes Prelude and has drawn a mid-field barrier at seven in the sixteen horse Blue Diamond Stakes field.

A Beautiful Night is the only one of co-trainers Ciaron Maher and David Eustace’s six Blue Diamond Stakes runners to draw a single digit barrier and will jump from gate two while their most fancied runner, Away Game, will jump from gate ten and Ideas Man will come out of the outside gate.

Betting for the 2020 Blue Diamond Stakes at Ladbrokes.com.au: $2.50 Hanseatic, $6 Rulership, $8 Letzbeglam, $11 Muntaseera, Away Game, $15 Rathlin, $16 Tagaloa, $17 Personal, $26 Aryaaf, A Beautiful Night, $41 Riverina Storm, $51 Tanker, Ideas Man, $81 Glenfiddich, $101 Fayerra, $201 Difficult.

Final field and barrier draw for the 2020 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m)

No Last 10 Horse Trainer Jockey Barrier Weight Hcp Rating
1 1×5 IDEAS MAN Ciaron Maher & David Eustace Damian Lane 16 56.5kg 72
2 1×11 HANSEATIC Anthony Freedman Luke Currie 1 56.5kg 84
3 72163 RATHLIN Ciaron Maher & David Eustace Ben Melham 11 56.5kg 74
4 15×86 TANKER Ciaron Maher & David Eustace John Allen 12 56.5kg 72
5 31×4 TAGALOA Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young Michael Walker 4 56.5kg 70
6 12 RULERSHIP Peter & Paul Snowden Mark Zahra 7 56.5kg 76
7 59×25 GLENFIDDICH Robbie Griffiths Glen Boss 9 56.5kg 67
8 4111 AWAY GAME Ciaron Maher & David Eustace Jye McNeil 10 54.5kg 78
9 2116 A BEAUTIFUL NIGHT Ciaron Maher & David Eustace Ms Linda Meech 2 54.5kg 76
10 1×2 ARYAAF David & B Hayes & T Dabernig Luke Nolen 8 54.5kg 78
11 11 LETZBEGLAM Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young Brett Prebble 3 54.5kg 76
12 21×2 MUNTASEERA Ciaron Maher & David Eustace Damien Oliver 13 54.5kg 72
13 21 PERSONAL David & B Hayes & T Dabernig Craig Williams 5 54.5kg 68
14 14 RIVERINA STORM David & B Hayes & T Dabernig Dwayne Dunn 6 54.5kg 63
15 44 FAYERRA Anthony Cummings Michael Dee 14 54.5kg 62
16 8×6 DIFFICULT John Moloney Jordan Childs 15 54.5kg 60

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.