Diamond sparkling ahead of Aussie mission

Brian Ellison hopes to run Carte Diamond in both the Carlton Draught Caulfield Cup and the Emirates Melbourne Cup.

Ellison’s charge finished an excellent runner-up behind Sergeant Cecil in the totesport Ebor and will bid for glory on two fronts in Australia this autumn.

“He’s in great order and if the Ebor was tomorrow he’d win it,” said the North Yorkshire handler.

“He goes into quarantine on September 11, he flies out on September 25, and then he’ll go for the Caulfield Cup [over 12 furlongs] on October 15. After that it’s the Melbourne Cup so he’s got a bit on his plate.”

The Malton handler declared himself happy with Carte Diamond’s weight allowance of 8st 6lb ahead of the two-mile Melbourne Cup at Flemington on November 1.

However, plans to run the Theatrical colt in the Totesport Gold Trophy at Newbury in February have been shelved until the four-year-old completes his expedition Down Under.

“The weight he’s got is not the end of the world and I think he’s a right price to do well,” added Ellison.

“He’s seven pound better than he was at the Ebor so that’s got to be a positive. It’s a long journey and a very demanding race so we’ll have to see about giving him a rest before we think about the Gold Trophy.”