Blue Diamond Stakes 2026 - Barrier Draw & Final Field
The Blue Diamond Stakes is a highly anticipated event for two-year-olds in Melbourne, offering a $2 million prize pool. Recent races have unveiled promising contenders like Big Sky and Guest House. Big Sky showed early dominance with a notable win at Flemington, while Guest House impressed on debut at Cranbourne. Other notable participants include Alibaba and Eternal Warrior, both set for strong performances. The race has a history of spotlighting promising careers, akin to past winners such as Redoute’s Choice and Extreme Choice.
- The barrier draw has been conducted for the 2026 Blue Diamond Stakes
- The Blue Diamond Stakes headlines a big Saturday card from Caulfield
- Final field & barriers are detailed below
Closer To Free has drawn barrier nine in the 2026 Blue Diamond Stakes. (Getty)
Big Sky (barrier 5) has made a sharp early impression in two 1000m outings to begin his career, breaking through with a dominant 2.75-length win at Flemington before claiming the Group 3 Chairman's Stakes by three lengths.
The son of Bivouac has shown natural speed in both appearances, positioning himself among the leading contenders for the Blue Diamond Stakes.
Stablemate Guest House (barrier 3), prepared by the Price & Kent (Jnr) team, has also displayed significant ability despite still being a work in progress.
The colt justified strong support when covering ground to score on debut at Cranbourne, before finishing runner-up in the colts and geldings division of the Blue Diamond Prelude at Caulfield.
That Prelude was taken out by Closer To Free (barrier 9), who was having his first start in the February 7 contest and won a race that went more than two lengths faster than the fillies’ division.
The fillies’ Blue Diamond Prelude was won by Streisand (barrier 12), while Unit Five (barrier 11) brings a different form profile into the race.
Prepared by Ciaron Maher, Unit Five is unbeaten in two starts, both coming in Magic Millions company, including a victory in the 2YO Classic on the Gold Coast last month.
A $55,000 late entry has been paid for Alibaba (barrier 17), who finished third in the Listed Merson Cooper on debut before returning to claim the colts and geldings edition of the Blue Diamond Preview on January 24.
The Keys-trained galloper was an unlucky third at his most recent appearance when contesting the Inglis Millennium at Randwick on February 7.
Merson Cooper winner Eternal Warrior (barrier 16) resumed with a third placing in the colts and geldings division of the Blue Diamond Prelude, where the colt was the pick of the off-speed runners.
Blue Diamond Stakes 2026 - Barriers & Final Field
| No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Barrier | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Unit Five | Ciaron Maher | Thomas Stockdale | 11 | 57kg |
| 2 | Alibaba | Ken & Kasey Keys | Craig Newitt | 17 | 57kg |
| 3 | Closer To Free | Danny O'Brien | Michael Dee | 9 | 57kg |
| 4 | Big Sky | Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr) | Jordan Childs | 5 | 57kg |
| 5 | Guest House | Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr) | Jamie Melham | 3 | 57kg |
| 6 | Eternal Warrior | Lloyd Kennewell | Damian Lane | 16 | 57kg |
| 7 | Milsons Point | Ciaron Maher | Ben Allen | 10 | 57kg |
| 8 | Eurocanto | Ben, Will & JD Hayes | Luke Currie | 18 | 57kg |
| 9 | Zambales | Anthony & Sam Freedman | Jamie Mott | 8 | 57kg |
| 10 | Invincible Son | Robbie Griffiths | William Pike | 13 | 57kg |
| 11 | Ghana’s Akan | Ciaron Maher | Ethan Brown | 7 | 55kg |
| 12 | Streisand | Clinton McDonald | Ben Melham | 12 | 55kg |
| 13 | Torture (NZ) | Ben, Will & JD Hayes | Celine Gaudray | 20 | 55kg |
| 14 | Lady Moscato | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Jye McNeil | 2 | 55kg |
| 15 | I Am Aria | Mark Walker | Craig Williams | 6 | 55kg |
| 16 | Chayan | Annabel & Rob Archibald | Lachlan Neindorf | 15 | 55kg |
| 17e | Stretan Ruler | Phillip Stokes | Beau Mertens | 19 | 57kg |
| 18e | Almost An Angel | Robbie Griffiths | 14 | 55kg | |
| 19e | Tough Romance | Tony & Calvin McEvoy | Harry Coffey | 4 | 57kg |
| 20e | Jacaranda | Ben, Will & JD Hayes | 1 | 55kg |
Blue Diamond Winners
The Blue Diamond Stakes stands as Melbourne’s flagship event for two-year-olds and remains one of the most anticipated juvenile contests on the calendar, with the Caulfield feature now carrying $2 million in prizemoney.
First staged in 1971 and won by Tolerance, the race has since developed a reputation for launching elite careers, with past winners including Redoute’s Choice, Alinghi and Extreme Choice.
Recent editions have continued that trend, with Little Brose (2023), Hayasugi (2024) and Devil Knight (2025) adding their names to the honour roll.
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