Blue Diamond

THE Blue Diamond Stakes picture is becoming clearer.

Chilean Miss leap-frogged to the fifth line of Blue Diamond betting with an ultra-impressive debut win at Mornington yesterday.

And at Flemington today, the Diamond is expected to take further shape, with two impressive recent trial winners to feature in the St John Ambulance 125 Sprint (1000m).

The Clinton McDonald-trained filly Chilean Miss, who bolted in by six lengths at Mornington after sharing the lead to the home turn, had been heavily backed to win the Blue Diamond before yesterday's win.

The filly, who was only registered with a name on Monday, was posted at $101 last week but is now $10.

TAB Sportsbet stands to lose more than $80,000 if she wins the 1200m Blue Diamond, the state's premier juvenile race, at Caulfield on February 23.

McDonald said Chilean Miss was good enough to win the Diamond, but added: "Getting there might be the battle.

"She's a little bit shinny (shin sore).

"If she gets to the Diamond, well and good, but we won't be pressuring her if she's not ready. A better alternative might be to bypass the Diamond and head for the Adelaide Magic Millions in March, which would obviously give us more time for her to recover. But she's a lovely filly.

"We've known she's been good for some time."

First-starters Beynac and Mount Everest have been specked to win the Diamond. They will firm further if they can translate trial form to race form at Flemington today.

Both youngsters won trials with impressive performances at Cranbourne on Tuesday.

Beynac's trainer Pat Hyland said he was wary of becoming too excited about an easy trial win.

"Put it his way, he's no Vain," Hyland said. "He trialled OK, he jumped to the lead and won well. But I don't know how much to read into those Cranbourne trials. I'd rather see him do it at the races before I get excited. Put it this way, I'll be a lot more keen on him come spring."

Beynac is $26 for the Blue Diamond, while the Lee Freedman-trained Mount Everest is $31.