FREEDMAN'S BIG BLUE DIAMOND PRELUDE DOUBLE. LITT UPSTAGES BIG GUNS IN INGLIS MILLENNIUM

By Scott Gooley | Saturday, February 9, 2019

Limited numbers no problem for Freedman’s Blue Diamond chances

Melbourne Trainer Anthony Freedman only took two horses to Caulfield on Saturday, but that was enough for him to walk away with both edition of the Blue Diamond Preludes.

Freedman saddled up race favourite I Am Immortal in the Colts and Geldings edition, who justified his price assessment with an all the way win. By way of contrast Lyre, Freedman’s representative in the Fillies edition, cruelled most punters, saluting at $26.

“We’ve always had an opinion of her,” stable foreman Sam Freedman said.

“The win at Sale (her debut and previous start) had merit as she just didn’t know how to put them away. She went to the farm and put a lot of weight on…. she’s improving all the time.”

“We don’t have many two-year-olds run, so it’s quite surreal to think we’ve got two runners in the Blue Diamond Stakes.”

Both runners are now rated $7 for the Blue Diamond on the February 23. They are on the fourth line of betting which is headed by Loving Gaby ($4).

Richard Litt upstages the big guns. Lands the $2M Inglis Millennium with Castelvecchio

The markets suggested a two-horse race – Accession (Chris Waller) versus Dawn Passage (Waterhouse / Bott) but it was Castelvecchio from the local stable of Richard Litt that took out the inaugural running of the Inglis Millennium and the lion’s share of the $2M purse.

“I’m speechless,” the 29 year-old trainer said after the race after watching his colt steam down the centre of the Warwick Farm track, overtaking Accession inside of the last 100m with Dawn Passage third.

Castelvecchio, a colt by Dundeel out of the mare St. Therese, who was twice G1 placed in NZ and ran second in both the G2 Angus Armansco and Kewney Stakes, turned his purchase price of $130,000.00 into a bargain … and, there’s more to come according to Litt.

“He does everything so easily. We haven’t pushed him. he was not even revved up for this race. He only had two gallops going into today. They weren’t big gallops either so he is not even cherry ripe yet,” Litt said.

Litt has seventeen horses on the books and Saturday’s victory was only the stable’s fourth win for the current season but with a promising colt like Castelvecchio occupying one of those boxes, Litt’s confident he’ll competitive in the tough Sydney market.

“This is what we do it for, what we get up (early) for and this horse seems the real deal.”