Ben & JD Hayes have taken out the Hayes family's 10th Blue Diamond Stakes with Little Brose taking out the Group 1 feature for the two-year-olds, defeating the fast finishing Don Corleone and stablemate Arkansaw Kid who filled the placings.
With The Instructor and Zulfiqar taking up the lead, one of the race favourites, Steel City, settled in the box seat but didn't see any daylight in the final 400m, leaving the race open for a swooper to run home down the outside, which is exactly what Little Brose and Michael Dee did.
After putting the writing on the wall in the Colts & Geldings Blue Diamond Prelude two weeks ago, running second behind Barber, the Per Incanto colt showed that 1200m was no issue as he ran through the line as strong as he did in the Prelude.
Little Brose went around as somewhat of an outsider, at $10 with online bookmakers, but he won as though he was a short-priced favourite by just under a length.
2023 Blue Diamond Stakes Replay – Little Brose
Both Ben & JD Hayes have now won their first Blue Diamond as a training partnership, which is also the 10th for the Hayes family, and both brothers spoke post-race about the massive Group 1 victory.
“I've got adrenaline, I'm just shaking,” Ben Hayes explained.
“I really thought he was good enough to win and I've felt like vomiting all day.
“For him to the line so impressively, it was just so exciting.
“He's a really exciting horse, so I'm thrilled and I'm thrilled for the whole team.”
JD Hayes was just as emotional as his brother when he spoke post-race.
“We have such a good team around us at Lindsay Park,” JD Hayes said.
“Everyone's got an important role to play and Ben and I say, ‘know your roll and play your roll'.”
Michael Dee brought up his eighth Group 1 victory of his career and his first Blue Diamond success.
“The way the race unfolded, that's exactly how we planned,” Dee said.
“I wanted to be somewhat positive and be as close as I can without being out of our comfort zone.
“He travelled strong throughout.
“To this horse's credit and to Ben and JD, to have him peaking on this day, it's a credit to them.
“I'm sure it's onwards and upwards from here on in.”