The Blue Diamond Stakes is a Group 1 race for two-year-olds that takes place in February each year at Caulfield racecourse in Melbourne during the Melbourne autumn racing carnival. The race is run under set weight conditions over a distance of 1200 metres and is worth $1,000,000 in prizemoney. The 2011 Blue Diamond Stakes was won by Sepoy from Hallowell Belle with Masthead third.
Blue Diamond Stakes day is the Melbourne Racing Club's premier race day of the autumn and features the Gr1 Futurity Stakes & Gr1 Oakleigh Plate alongside the Blue Diamond Stakes.
The Blue Diamond Stakes is the premier two-year-old sprint event of the autumn carnival in Melbourne and the race itself has produced many a fine horse over the years. Top class gallopers such as Sepoy (2011), Alinghi (2004), Bel Esprit (2002), Redoutes Choice (1999) Courtza (1989) and Zeditave (1988) have all won this race since its inception.
First run in 1971, the Blue Diamond Stakes is now a $1,000,000 race for the state's best two-year-olds and Blue Diamond Day has grown to become the biggest race day of the autumn for the Melbourne Racing Club at Caulfield.
The Gr3 Blue Diamond Prelude C&G & Gr3 Blue Diamond Prelude Fillies held at Caulfield a couple of weeks earlier are the traditional lead up races to this classic event and the quality filly Alinghi (2004) was the last 2yo to win a prelude and then go on to win the Blue Diamond.
Sepoy (2011) scored an easy win in the Colts & Geldings Prelude prior to his outstanding win in this event and recent Blue Diamond Stakes winners have been Star Witness (2010) and Reward To Effort (2009).
Sepoy also went on to win Australia's richest 2yo sprint, the Gr1 Golden Slipper Stakes, at Rosehill in April during the Sydney autumn racing carnival and completed the Blue Diamond & Golden Slipper in the process.
2011 Blue Diamond Stakes result
1. $1.40 Sepoy 55.5 K Mc Evoy
2. $13.00 Hallowell Belle 53.5 C Williams
3. $51.00 Masthead 55.5 D Dunn
then followed
4. $41.00 Metonymy 53.5 L Nolen
5. $26.00 Holdontoyahorses 53.5 D Oliver
6. $21.00 Delago's Lad 55.5 C Symons
7. $19.00 Running Tall 55.5 B Melham
8. $51.00 Grand Britannia 55.5 N Rawiller
9. $101.00 Spectrolite 53.5 M J Walker
10. $20.00 Anevay 53.5 N Hall
11. $41.00 Envious 55.5 G Boss
12. $81.00 Arctic Command 55.5 D Smith
13. $12.00 Atomic 55.5 C Newitt
14. $301.00 Helping Hand 53.5 J Cassidy
