Searching for Diamonds

The Group One Caduceus Fillies Classic – a feature race for two year old fillies at Alexandra Park on Friday night, has drawn a record number of entries with fourteen starters set to go. Also to be held on Friday night is the two year old fillies race at Addington with a field of thirteen.  With so many horses competing, spots will be hard to get for the end of season Ace of Diamonds.

The field for the Ace of Diamonds on 29^th November will be made up of the top thirteen qualifiers based on stakes earned. The pressure will go on when the current two top seeds, Captains Mistress (Captaintreacherous) and Youretheonethatiwant (Captaintreacherous) resume racing.

With strong numbers in both the north and south, the Ace of Diamonds could also be the ideal race for Entain to run a North v South betting option.

It’s also interesting to note that of the twenty seven fillies due to race on Friday night across the two venues, twelve were purchased at the NZB Standardbred Sales in either Auckland or Christchurch with their sales prices ranging from $300,000 down to $15,000.

Since two year old fillies stocks are high, clubs will hopefully be encouraged to programme extra two year old fillies races. This would create the opportunity for horses to improve their positions and have a shot at making the cut for the $100,0000 Ace of Diamonds.

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink