Jockey Brett Prebble says Letzbeglam has the ability to win Victoria’s richest two-year-old race but wonders whether she has the mental capacity.
Letzbeglam raced her way into contention for the Group One Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) on February 22 with a comprehensive victory in the fillies Prelude (1100m) on Saturday.
Jumping from the widest barrier, Prebble was happy to sit three wide outside of the leaders on Letzbeglam ($31) before taking over on straightening, racing to a 2-1/2 length victory from Muntaseera ($3.30) with Geist ($16) a half-head away third.
Prebble said the first time he sat aboard Letzbeglam she showed him “classic” potential with Guineas races in her three-year-old year within her grasp.
Letzbeglam was successful at Werribee on debut over 1100m on January 21 ahead of Saturday’s win.
“She got great benefit out of Werribee to today and she might be able to take that next step,” Prebble said.
“She has shown from an early age that she has plenty of promise but is not really a precocious two-year-old.
“She’s got a high cruising speed, but that nervous energy makes her a bit goofy out there as today she was floating until the 250 metres.
“She’s still a real baby but has a good motor and the makings of a nice three-year-old.”
Prebble, a former leading rider in Hong Kong, returned to Australia in 2018 and said the ride on Letzbeglam, owned in New Zealand by Jo Lindsay from Cambridge Stud, came about through a long association with Henry Plumptre, the chief executive of both the stud and the Lindsay Racing operation.
Natalie Young, who trains in partnership with Trent Busuttin, is excited to have a runner in the Blue Diamond.
She said the stable had made a conscious decision to buy potential two-year-old stock after concentrating on stayers prior to their move from New Zealand to Cranbourne in 2016.
“We’ve always had New Zealand-bred horses, staying horses, so we never really focused on two-year-old horses before,” Young said.
“In the past few years we’ve been really active at all the sales and we’ve been getting winners, so the studs are starting to support us as well.”