Saturday's Blue Diamond Preludes have shaken up the market for Victoria's premier two-year-old race with Believe N Succeed and Wilander moving into favouritism for the $1 million juvenile classic on February 23 at Caulfield.
The race is set to be one of the most open of recent years after Lee Freedman's Wilander easily won the colt's prelude and Mark Kavanagh's Believe N Succeed streeted the fillies. Both are now $6 for the Blue Diamond.
Wilander, having just its second start, easily accounted for highly-rated stablemate Exceedingly Good after a front-running ride from Luke Nolen on Saturday and Freedman now considers the half brother to star sprinter Magnus to be at the top of his condition.
But Freedman was loathe to write off Exceedingly Good, who was coming off a spell, saying natural improvement would make his two colts hard to separate in a fortnight.
However, the brilliant performance of Believe n Succeed will have Freedman a little worried after Stephen Baster set a cracking early pace before surging away for an authoritative win.
"I thought she had gone too hard early and I was wondering what Stephen (Baster) was doing, but she was able to kick again in the straight. It was a pretty good effort," Kavanagh said.
Freedman was pleased with the effort of his runner-up Sugar Babe, who is on the second line of betting, but may choose to set her for the Magic Millions on the Gold Coast. One-time Diamond favourite Burgeis was third on Saturday, and jockey Danny Brereton still believes the Tony Vasil-trained filly can win the race.
In an amazing achievement from a first-season sire, Exceed and Excel has the first four favourites for the Blue Diamond. The former sprinting star has started his stud career with a bang and could be set to challenge Redoute's Choice as Australia's most dominant sire in the coming years.
David Hayes, who has won the past two Blue Diamonds with Sleek Chassis and Nadeem, has $8 chance All American, who didn't run on Saturday, as well as Hips Don't Lie ($12), Reann ($14) and Pachanga ($16).