Debutantes eye Diamond

Seven first-start fillies hoping to snare prize at Caulfield

WINNING the Blue Diamond Preview for fillies on debut has been rare in recent years but a host of youngsters will be trying to break the trend in the latest edition of the Group Three race.

Seven of the 10 runners in today’s fillies Preview (1000m) at Caulfield will be having their first starts, including wellbacked favourite Pure Elation who is already on the second line of betting for next month’s Group One Blue Diamond (1200m).

Malasun, in 2012, is the only filly in the past decade to win the fillies Preview on debut.

Peter Snowden, co-trainer of Pure Elation, says the precocious filly has done everything right leading into today’s debut including winning a Werribee jump-out in impressive fashion on January 15.

“I expect her to run well, albeit it’s her first start and there’s a lot of unknowns in the race,” Snowden said.

“I’ve been really happy with her and I was very impressed with her last 200m of her trial at Werribee.”

The Aaron Purcell-trained Inindeed is another debutante and she was scratched from a two-year-old race at Ballarat on Wednesday and another at Moonee Valley last night in favour of Caulfield.

“She’s quite a fast filly who jumps and travels strongly,” Purcell said. “It’s obviously hard to line up the two-yearolds at this stage, but she does have good ability.”

Connections of the Tony McEvoy-trained Lake District Girl decided to chase blacktype on debut rather than tackle the Moonee Valley twoyear-old race last night.

A $7.50 chance, Lake District Girl will be one of two runners for McEvoy along with stakes-placed Oohood who is the $3.60 second fav- ourite. Oohood ran second to unbeaten colt Long Leaf in the Merson Cooper Stakes in November after a slightly slow getaway.

Downloads, an $850,000 yearling, is Lindsay Park’s representative in the fillies Preview on debut.

“She’s an up-and-coming filly,” co-trainer David Hayes said. “It’s a big ask, first-up in a Preview but it’s been done before and we’re hoping she can do it.

“She goes pretty well.”

‘I expect her to run well, albeit it’s her first start and there’s a lot of unknowns in the race.’ PETER SNOWDEN ON PURE ELATION