Hayasugi to chase rare Blue Diamond treble
Hayasugi will attempt a rare feat when she chases Melbourne’s premier juvenile race at Caulfield.
The Clinton Mcdonald-trained two-year-old will head to the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield on February 24 with the Blue Diamond Preview and the Blue Diamond Prelude already secured.
No filly has achieved the feat since Midnight Fever in 1987, while the last colt to win the treble was Sepoy in 2011, following on from Bel Esprit in 2002 and Rancher 20 years earlier.
Ridden by Jamie Kah, Hayasugi ($8.50) scored by a nose from South Australian visitor Kuroyanagi ($5.50) with Matisse ($17) a long neck away third.
McDonald said there was still improvement to come from Hayasugi who has won her two races this campaign, the Blue Diamond Preview and the Prelude, by the barest possible margin.
“She’s one of those fillies that’s just tough,” McDonald said.
“She cops anything you throw at her, and you saw today she had a horse on her inside pushing her off the track, but she was good enough to balance up and find the line.
“I thought there was a lot of credit to the win, and I know there’s still improvement to come.
“We’ve been pretty soft on her and let her come through naturally and she’s only had one gallop since her last start.
“She’ll tighten up beautifully going to 1200 (metres).”
Kah, who is yet to win a Blue Diamond, said Haysugi had the attributes to win the race.
She said she would speak to McDonald about removing the tongue tie from the filly in a bid to make Hayasugi more tractable.
“They obviously have to be fast to win good races but she’s just so easy to deal with,” Kah said.
“Clinton’s been saying she’s eating up every day, pulling up 100 per cent sound and that gets them a long way.
“Today was the first time she’s ever been a bit difficult to ride on the turn.
“She didn’t like that tongue tie, so I’ll speak to Clinton about it but the improvement she’s made fitness wise has been massive since her last start.”
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