Three generations of Blue Diamond Winners 

Hayasugi was unfancied by punters at $16.00, but she saluted in the Blue Diamond for trainer Clint McDonald. 

While Gai Waterhouse was once more denied her first win in the Blue Diamond Stakes at Caulfield on Saturday afternoon, the story was better still with Clint McDonald landing a remarkable third-generation win in the 1200m Group 1 race. 

The horse racing bookmakers will have been happy with the Blue Diamond result, with a $16.00 roughie winning the race. With the second being a Gai Waterhouse-trained two-year-old, they would have dodged a bullet there with Waterhouse still searching for her first win in the Group 1 sprint.  
 
Three generations of the same family all winning such a prestigious Group 1 race is a remarkable achievement, with Clint McDonald's grandfather winning the race in 1978 and his father winning in 1989. There has been a big gap, but the treble was finally brought up in 2024. 

Hayasugi unbeaten in Blue Diamond series 

Having won both the Preview and the Prelude, Hayasugi lined up looking to win all three races of the Blue Diamond series. It did not look like she would be anywhere close as the field turned for home, but when she saw some clear air down the outside, she flew home under the urgings of Jamie Kah to see her challenge timed to perfection. This was a 10th Group 1 winning ride for Kah just a week after announcing her engagement to fellow jockey Ben Melham. 
 
Sepoy was the last to do the same and go through the Blue Diamond series without tasting defeat. McDonald would love his filly to achieve half of what Sepoy did, winning 10 of his 13 career starts and having a reasonably successful time at stud, with some of his offspring showing the same precocity as a two-year-old. 

Manikato won the race in 1978 

Trained by Bon Hoysted (whose father Fred won the 1954 Melbourne Cup with Rising Fast), Manikato was a star from day one, landing the Blue Diamond and Golden Slipper double in 1978. Hoysted would pass shortly after the latter contest, with his brother Ben taking over the training of Manikato, who would then win four editions of the Futurity Stakes, which was also on Saturday's Caulfield card. That was won by Mr Brightside, who picked up a sixth Group 1 victory for his connections.  

1989 saw Courtza win the Blue Diamond 

Eleven years later, Ross McDonald would win the Blue Diamond with Courtza. He would win five of his 14 career races, including a couple of Group 1 contests, retiring with a little over 1.8 million in prize money to his credit. That second Group 1 was the Golden Slipper, where Hayasugi will now be aimed.

The Golden Slipper awaits  

Now that Hayasugi has a Blue Diamond to her credit, she must head to Rosehill for a crack at the Golden Slipper. With both of the prior family winners also doing the double, Hayasugi has a task to try to land the treble there on March 23.  
 
She will take on another strong Gai Waterhouse challenger there in Storm Boy, but Lady Of Camelot, who she went past late on at Caulfield, was also towards the head of the betting for that race.  
 
Storm Boy remains the one to beat at Rosehill and will be at the opposite end of the field to Hayasugi in the early stages. She overcame the pace bias at Caulfield, where four of the front five early were those to finish second to fifth. Hayasugi needs to be respected. 

It was not just the generational win that should be celebrated with Hayasugi, but being the first to go unbeaten through the series since Sepoy is an outstanding achievement. He has become a successful sire, and this filly's value as a brood is now huge. Let's see if she can make her mark in the Golden Slipper now.