Flemington trainer Mark Kavanagh expects a hot pace in the Group 1 $1m Sportingbet Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield on Saturday and predicts this will suit his colt Chivalry.
The anticipated hot pace of the Blue Diamond Stakes will suit Chivalry. Photo by Race Horse Photos Australia.
Chivalry got back from barrier fourteen before making up plenty of ground in the straight when an eye catching third to Rubick in the Group 3 $150,000 Sportingbet Blue Diamond Prelude (C&G) (1100m) at Caulfield on February 8 but expects the Street Cry colt to be closer to the leaders after coming up with barrier five at this morning’s barrier draw.
“He should get a good run from there. I expect a very quick first half, certainly with the favourite drawn out wide,” Kavangha told TVN.
“No one wants to draw the outside in a race like this. It is a pressure race and there is plenty going on inside of him and there is plenty going on outside of him.”
“He was last in the bend the other day. You would expect him to be closer than that.”
“There is a lot of traffic and lot of people will be disappointed as I can see pretty rough race.”
Blue Diamond Stakes favourites Rubick (gate 10) and Earthquake (gate 15) have both drawn out wider than Chivalry and both raced with the leaders when they won the colts and geldings and the fillies versions of the Blue Diamond Preludes.
The Gerald Ryan trained Rubick was a little slow to leave the barriers from gate two in the Blue Diamond Prelude but Brenton Avdulla was able to let him slip up along the fence to gain control of the race coming to the home turn and then the colt was strong in the run to the line.
Earthquake was also a bit tardy from barrier five in the fillies division but Damian Browne was able to balance her up and let her slide to race outside the leader and once heads were turned for home the Peter Snowden trained filly romped home to score a decisive win.
Kavanagh is looking for his second win in the Blue Diamond Stakes and says Chivalry is a different type of two year old than his 2005 winner Undoubtedly.
“This is more a get back, three-year-old horse and Undoubtedly was a two-year-old and two-year-old only,” Kavanagh said.
“This bloke is going a bit better than Undoubtedly at the time, this is just a stronger year.”
Earthquake has continued to drift in the betting following her drawing a horror barrier and is now marked at $3.40 with Ladbrokes.com.au behind favourite Rubick at $2.80.
Chivalry is on the third line of betting at $7.50 while the Gai Waterhouse trained Nayeli and Nostradamus from the Hawkes stable share the next line of betting at $10.
