Diamond Drille The Class Horse In Toy Show Quality Field

Gai Waterhouse has declared Diamond Drille the class horse in the 2014 Toy Show Quality field and she believes that the Group 1 winning mare is one of the most underrated horses in Australia.

Diamond Drille will be returning to the races for the first time since she took out the 2014 Queen Of The Turf Stakes.

Diamond Drille will be returning to the races for the first time since she took out the 2014 Queen Of The Turf Stakes. Photo by: Steve Hart

Diamond Drille made her debut at Group level during the 2014 Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival and she took out the Group 3 The Aspiration (1600m) at Royal Randwick on March 15 before she scored an upset win in the Group 1 Queen Of The Turf Stakes (1600m) at the same venue on April 19.

The Al Maher mare impressed with two strong barrier trial performances at Royal Randwick on July 18 and August 1 and Waterhouse told Racing Ahead that the five-year-old is very forward for her first-up assignment in the Group 3 Toy Show Quality (1300m).

“She is very forward,” Waterhouse said.

“I was only looking at her this morning and she is a big, strong daughter of Al Maher and she loves the wet.

“I know that she has the top weight in the race, but she is the quality horse in the race.

“Every time I asked her to step-up she stepped up in the most remarkable fashion and she is probably one of the most underrated race mares in Australia.”

Waterhouse revealed earlier this month that she believes Diamond Drille may be good enough to contest the Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley on October 25 during the 2014 Spring Racing Carnival and she remains confident that the Queen Of The Turf Stakes winner is capable of being competitive at weight-for-age level in the spring.

“She will probably end up in the Mackinnon Stakes at Flemington or the Myer Classic,” Waterhouse said.

“The Myer Classic is the most obvious, but she is down for the Cox Plate and these races are not beyond her reach.”

Diamond Drill is currently available at 2014 Toy Show Quality odds of $6.50 and her price has fluctuated on a number of occasions since betting for the Group 3 event opened on Wednesday.

Team Snowden-trained Gypsy Diamond ($3.80) remains a clear favourite from Vinery Stud Stakes winner Lucia Valentina ($6), Diamond Drille and consistent mare Dear Demi ($8.50), while there has been plenty of money for Kris Lees-trained Thump in the last 24 hours and she is now into a quote of $10.

About The Author

Thomas Hackett

Thomas is a passionate and opinionated racing journalist and punter who has been obsessed with horse racing since he backed Saintly to win the 1996 Melbourne Cup. An international racing enthusiast, he has his finger on the pulse of racing news not just from Australia but all around the world.