Racingbase.com.au is your home of the 2020 Blue Diamond Stakes. The race will take place on Saturday, 22 February, 2020 at Caulfield Racecourse.

We provide you with Blue Diamond Stakes tips as well as an in depth guide into the runners, horses, final field, barrier draw, news, betting odds and information, and how you can watch a live stream to watch the race unfold.

BLUE DIAMOND STAKES TIPS

When trying to find the winner of the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield, keeping some important factors on your side can help you.

Our experts assess all the Blue Diamond Stakes runners, their form, barrier draws, speedmap and more to help come up with our betting pointers and 2020 tips to help you back the winner.

Tipster Aaron Hamilton has provided his 2020 Blue Diamond Stakes tips and selections.

BLUE DIAMOND STAKES ODDS

Leading bookmakers Sportsbet and BetEasy have the latest 2020 Blue Diamond Stakes betting odds available. There will be plenty of movements in the Blue Diamond Stakes betting markets in the days leading up to the race. See the latest market below or click on the links to take you direct to the bookmakers.

GET THE LATEST BLUE DIAMOND STAKES MARKET AT BETEASY

BLUE DIAMOND STAKES LIVE STREAM

Australia’s leading bookmakers offer you the chance to watch the Blue Diamond Stakes (and all other races from Victorian tracks) free of charge. You can watch all Caulfield races including the Blue Diamond Stakes streamed live online at Ladbrokes, BetEasy or Sportsbet. To find out how to stream the Blue Diamond Stakes live, see our guide to watch the race.

BLUE DIAMOND STAKES HISTORY

The Blue Diamond Stakes is the most prestigious race for two-year-olds on the Victorian racing calendar.

It is a Group 1 event run at Caulfield over 1200 metres under set weight conditions and carries prizemoney of $1.5 million.

Blue Diamond Stakes Day is the premier day of the Melbourne Autumn Carnival, with the Oakleigh Plate and Futurity Stakes being the other Group 1 events on the program.

The race was first run in 1971 where it was won by Tolerance. Many great horses have since won the event including Manikato (1977), Rancher (1982), Bounding Away (1986), Zedative (1988), Courtza (1989), Redoute’s Choice (1999), Alinghi (2004), Sepoy (2011), Earthquake (2014), Extreme Choice (2016), Catchy (2017) and Written By (2018).

The Blue Diamond attracts top class colts and geldings and fillies in Victoria and has lured competitive two-year-olds from over the border in South Australia and Sydney.

The genuine competitors for the Blue Diamond enjoy a couple of trials prior to the big race. The lead-up races, however, are sex orientated with the colts & geldings and fillies competing against their own sex in the Blue Diamond Previews held in late January, and then again in the Blue Diamond Preludes which are run two weeks later and two weeks prior to the Group 1 event.

The winner and sometimes placegetters of the big race usually head on to the Group 1 Golden Slipper held at Rosehill in Sydney some three weeks later.

Several horses have won the double over the years, including John’s Hope (1972), Manikato (1978), Bounding Away (1986), and Courtza (1989). Since then, the only successful dual winner has been Sepoy in 2011.

CAULFIELD RACECOURSE

Founded in 1859, Caulfield Racecourse hosts around 20 race days every year, headlined by the Caulfield Cup.

The track is commonly known at ‘The Heath’ following the early days in which jockeys would ride through rough bush, heath and sand hills during races.

The name is now renowned across Australia and New Zealand for representing Caulfield’s superb racing and entertainment venue.

The first Caulfield Cup was run in the autumn of 1879, and was transferred to the spring in 1881.

The track was closed during the war and was used as an army camp, with the Caulfield Cup being run at Flemington.

Following the 1995 Caulfield Cup, the course underwent a significant reconstruction and reopened in 1996. The track’s circumference was widened to 30m and lengthened inside the home straight by around 43m.

CAULFIELD TRACK DESCRIPTION

Racing is contested in a left-handed direction at Caulfield and features long, sweeping turns. As a result, there can be a slight draw bias for those drawn low over distances further than seven-furlongs.

The course has a total circumference of 2080m including a home straight of just over 360m.

In terms of the Caulfield Cup, records throughout the 21st century have showcased a slight advantage for single digit stalls due to the course’s swift anti-clockwise bends.

Favourable positioning at Caulfield can be crucial to a contenders’ winning claims, as the setting has a short home straight of less than 400m. It means hold-up performers routinely encounter trouble in-running, resulting in many hard-luck stories.

Over shorter distances, the emphasis is placed on speed as horses seek a prominent position before turning for home. A below-par start in Caulfield’s sprint races usually results in a poor finishing position for horses, showcasing the need for sharp early pace.