Ellerslie Prospecting

They may have run a second and a half slower than the other two-year-old race at Ellerslie today but don't be surprised if the race won by The Diamond Duke turns out to be a significantly better guide to three-year-old form next season.

As a race the Legends Fellowship for maiden juveniles was an ordinary affair with the last 600m time of 34.86 hardly noteworthy given the hack tempo of the first half of the contest but one got the impression that the first two horses across the line were far from wound up for their debuts and both certainly possess the breeding and physical makeup to develop into nice prospects for next season.

While Sean Ritchie has deservedly received good press for his emergence as a trainer of real quality this season, his exceptional eye for a yearling has been underplayed slightly by the media with The Diamond Duke another example of this skill. As a $90,000 Karaka Premier yearling, today's winner was considerably more expensive than Military Move, Keep The Peace and My Scotsgrey who all came from the Select Catalogue, but given Ritchie's success it's not hard to predict him having a significantly larger budget when he shops at Karaka next summer.

It's not difficult to understand why The Diamond Duke fetched the equal top price for progeny of his sire Bachelor Duke at last year's Karaka Sales. He's imposing to say the least with a good deal of his dam sire Seattle Slew about him,; probably already 16.1 hands going on 16.2, but well put together and balanced like so many of the good Bachelor Dukes.

As a type he's a typical Ritchie purchase, good sized but athletic with plenty of rein.

The gelding has plenty going for him on pedigree too with his dam the unraced Volksraad mare Doneze Girl a half sister to the highly talented but injury plagued Diamond Deck, who in turn is a three quarter sister to the champion racehorse and now emerging sire Lohnro.

Macavity, the runner-up to The Diamond Duke is also a most striking individual. She's a very well built filly particularly through the neck , shoulder and hindquarter, physical traits more in common with her maternal grand sire than her sire Keeper.

Cat Shmea the dam of Macavity looks an exciting broodmare prospect. Her first foal Velocitea by Volksraad has really found form as a four-year-old mare in Melbourne this season winning twice at group 3 level before a last start second in group one company in Adelaide.

A daughter of the disappointing Storm Cat stallion Felix the Cat, Cat Shmea was a handy three-year-old filly in the South Island winning three times and running third on a wet track in a listed Filly of the Year event at Wingatui. While Cat Shmea's female family would be considered only Festival Sale quality it is a nice blend of stamina and soundness through the presence of successive dam sires Beaufort Sea, Super Gray and Bellborough; the later a particularly underrated presence, featuring as he does in the pedigrees of the likes of Starcraft, Zeditave, Jet Spur and Taras Bulba.

From stables not known for producing two-year-old's and as types certain to improve at three in line with their sires typical get, The Diamond Duke and Macavity are two interesting prospects for next season.