Heavily backed Blue Diamond fancy Politeness can confirm a start in the $1m two year old Group 1 if she can win at her race debut at Moonee Valley tonight.
Politeness’ $9.50 Blue Diamond quote will shorten dramatically if she runs up to trainer Robert Smerdon’s expectations after showing enormous ability on the tracks.
“She has never been fully extended at home,” Smerdon said.
“What she has done she has done on the bit and we don’t know how much more there is,” Smerdon revealed this morning.
“It looks like she’s got more to offer.
“We’ve been happy with what we’ve seen so far. She has looked good to us and there’s improvement in her alright,”
If the Street Sense filly wins tonight, Smerdeon will send her straight into the Group 1 $1m Patinack Farm Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield on February 23 without another run.
“If she measures up tonight I’d say she wouldn’t race again before the Diamond, that’s the plan anyway,” Smerdon said.
Smerdon will leave the riding tactics up Glen Boss who has had a feel of the filly in a recent jumpout.
“Glen has been on her before so I’ll leave tactics up to him,” Smerdon said..
“She has shown natural gate speed and I would have thought she’d be right on top of the pace.”
Boss, who is a tearaway leader in the Melbourne jockey’s premiership, said that Politeness felt very good when he rode her on the track.
“She seems like the real deal. It’ll be her first time under race conditions, but every indication tells me she’s a very handy filly and her trainer Robert Smerdon is happy with her,” Boss said in his weekly blog.
Sensational Adelaide filly Miracles Of Life firmed to $3.60 favourite for the Blue Diamond in three weeks when she took her winning record to three from three with a four and a quarter length win in the Listed $120,000 Patinack Farm Blue Diamond Preview for Fillies (1000m) at Caulfield last week.
Peter Snowden’s Warwick Farm winner Guelph cemented second spot in the betting at $6 while Peter Moody’s colt Thermal Current is at $8 after an unlucky third to stablemate Dissident ($15) in the colts and geldings Preview.
