Caulfield: Samaready heads Blue Diamond

Samaready, an Australian-bred filly by More than Ready, will be favored to win her Group 1 debut in Saturday’s $1.07 million Blue Diamond Stakes at Caulfield Racecourse in Australia.

The Blue Diamond Stakes is one of three Group 1 turf races on the Caulfield program. The Futurity Stakes for older sprinters will not feature Black Caviar. Unbeaten in 19 starts, Black Caviar was a candidate for the Futurity Stakes, but is being rested until April, trainer Peter Moody said earlier this week.

Samaready won the Group 3 Blue Diamond Prelude Stakes over six furlongs on Feb. 11. Saturday’s Blue Diamond Stakes is run over six furlongs. The race drew a field of 20, but has a safety limit of 16 runners, with four on the also-eligible list.

On the same program, Sepoy, unraced since winning the Group 1 Coolmore Stakes last October, starts in the $428,000 Oakleigh Plate over 5 1/2 furlongs.

Owned by Sheikh Mohammed, Sepoy won 9 of 10 starts last year, including the Blue Diamond Stakes. A 4-year-old in the Northern Hemisphere, he is a candidate for the $2 million Golden Shaheen for sprinters in Dubai on March 31.

The $535,000 Futurity Stakes over seven furlongs drew a field of 11, including King Mufhasa, an 8-year-old New Zealand-bred who was a Group 1 winner at Caulfield last October in the Toorak Handicap.