Unbeaten Extreme Choice Dazzles in 'Diamond'
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Photo: Mark Gatt
Extreme Choice runs away from the competition in the Blue Diamond Stakes.
Extreme Choice led a one-two finish for trainer Mick Price in the Aus$1.5 million Blue Diamond Stakes (Aus-I) in winning comfortably from stablemate Flying Artie Feb. 27 at Caulfield.
Extreme Choice, a Not A Single Doubt colt ridden by Craig Newitt, won the lucrative 2-year-old race by 1 3/4 lengths and finished 1,200 meters (about six furlongs) in 1:08.95 as the favorite on turf rated as good. The colt heads to the Aus$3.5 million Golden Slipper (Aus-I, April 19 at Rosehill Gardens) unbeaten in three career starts for a large ownership group.
Third into the straight, Extreme Choice quickly put away front-runner Hey Doc to open a clear lead. Despite getting hung about 10-wide off the turn with Damien Oliver, second favorite Flying Artie came flying with a determined outside run but Extreme Choice finished strongly to hold sway. Zamzam was about four lengths behind Flying Artie to finish third in the field of 16.
"I've got plenty of horse left in both of them, they haven't been bottomed out by today," Price said of the winner and runner-up. "I've got three weeks, I'm probably going to pay a late entry to get Flying Artie into the Slipper."
Extreme Choice was bred in Australia by Bell River Thoroughbreds from the Hussonet mare Extremely. Price bought him from his breeder for Aus$100,000 ($77,970) at the 2015 Inglis classic yearling sale.
Caulfield's Saturday card also included wins by Flamberge (Exceed And Excel) in the Oakleigh Plate (Aus-I) and Turn Me Loose (Iffraaj) in the Futurity (Aus-I).
Elsewhere in Australia on Saturday, 2015 Cox Plate (Aus-I) victress and heavy favorite Winx (Street Cry) took the Aus$600,000 Chipping Norton (Aus-I) at Royal Randwick. The victory was her seventh straight, all black-type events.