Diamond in the rough

SEARCHING for a tough, two-year-old type at the Magic Millions yearling sale, trainer Mark Newnham found a colt by Dawn Approach who ticked all the right boxes.

The only problem was, he proved a shade too tough to handle as a colt. “His first start he absolutely went to pieces in the yard,” Newnham said. “He was dripping wet and was rearing, striking and bucking.”

Despite this, Diamond Thunder finished fourth on debut to subsequent Black Opal Stakes winner Pin Sec and unsurprisingly, Newnham wasted no time having him gelded.

It appears to have done the trick with the two-year-old chalking up back-to-back wins at Hawkesbury and Warwick Farm to earn a shot at Saturday grade in the Lonhro Hall Of Fame Handicap (1200m) at Rosehill. “He’s still a bit playful but his race manners are very good. He’s a good, genuine racehorse,” Newnham said.