Wednesday, 1 February 2012: Australia's second highest-earning two-year-old this season has emerged as a genuine contender for next month's listed Black Opal Stakes in Canberra.
 | Diamond Earth
Photo by Racing and Sports | |
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Canberra Racing Club chief executive Peter Stubbs revealed at yesterday's Black Opal launch that he had been in contact with connections of
Diamond Earth 
, who indicated they were targeting the $250,000 juvenile feature.
The Anthony-Cummings daughter of
Choisir is part-owned by Canberra's Geoff Coady and has earned almost $350,000 from four starts, claiming wins in the Inglis Banner and Inglis Nursery.
Two weekends ago she ran second to
Cavalry Rose , who is also being aimed at the Black Opal, in the Inglis Classic.
“The second horse
Diamond Earth is locally owned by the Coady family and Geoff Coady said there's a fair chance they'll aim
Diamond Earth at the Black Opal Stakes,” Stubbs said.
“
Diamond Earth's very well-performed, he's put together about $400,000 in prizemoney already.
“They [
Diamond Earth and Cavalry Rose] would be two good chances at this early stage.”
Only Magic Millions Classic winner, the Gai Waterhouse-trained
Driefontein ($1.278m), has won more two-year-old prizemoney this season.
Diamond Earth has banked $347,000 while Waterhouse's
No Looking Back is third on the earners' list with $342,000.
Cavalry Rose won $150,000 in her Inglis Classic salute, her only race start.
However most of the money won by the talented quartet has been in restricted races and won't count towards qualification for the $3.5m Golden Slipper (1200m).
The Australian Turf Club yesterday released the first order of entry for the race, based on prizemoney.
Driefontein heads the list following her win in the Group 3 BJ McLachlan Stakes (1200m) late last year, while No Looking Back slotted into equal 18th spot.
Neither Cavalry Rose or
Diamond Earth made the shortlist.
“If you can win the Black Opal Stakes, that will normally give you enough prizemoney to get into the Golden Slipper,” Stubbs said.
“The positioning of the Black Opal Stakes this year is much better than it has been for many, many years.
“That'll fall in our favour we believe, that should strengthen the Black Opal Stakes and four weeks before the Slipper is a good lead in for a horse that'll want to have one run, then another [run] two weeks later leading into the Golden Slipper.”
