A Trio Of Carnival Runners

Ballymore kicks off Blue Diamond Stakes Day with the promising three-year-old Benagil who resumes in the fifth race on the strong card - the Gr.2 Angus Armanasco Stakes.

The lightly raced daughter of Manhattan Rain had no luck at all last spring but she proved herself up there with the best of Melbourne's fillies and the market has her respected upon her return.

"All the good fillies have come out to play as you'd expect," Michael said, confident that Benagil - who is to be ridden by Michael Dee - just needs a change of luck to win such a race.

"She was luckless all spring, she should've got black-type and probably won one of those races," he said.

"We are looking forward to kicking her off - she didn't have a long break and we think we have her forward enough. She is quite a strong filly, her work has been good and she had a nice jump-out."

Benagil reminds Michael of her dam Des Moines who he also trained and who also showed talent.

"She is the mirror image of her mum in the way she works," he said.

"When you work her up in company you can get a line on her but when she works by herself she is very casual."

From barrier 7 of 8 there are no set plans on race morning with strong winds predicted at Caulfield.

"We have the benefit of watching a few races beford to see what the track is doing," Michael said.

"We can have a look and see what is going on, with the wind it may be that she has to go back a bit and get cover. Hopefully she can get clear running, we think if she is on her A-game she is a winning chance."

Benagil is a home-bred for the Campbell family who have raced a few generations of this family we wish them the best of luck not only for today but for the rest of the carnival.

Another talented girl taking on good company is Coeur Volante who is second up in the Gr.3 Mannerism Stakes, the sixth race of the day.

To be ridden by the in-form Blake Shinn who was aboard when she ran a nice race first up in similar company, Coeur Volante boasts excellent second up form and she has been kept up to the mark with a recent win in a home-track jump-out.

And today the blinkers go on, Michael confident that has "definitely been the right way to go with her."

"We can't fault her, she really seems to be enjoying her work and today she has that edge of fitness; with that and the blinkers on I think we are right in the party."

The one negative being the outside draw.

"We just need a bit of luck from that barrier but there does appear to be reasonable speed on."

Michael was pleased with the Proisir mare's first up run, saying that "the more I have watched that race the more I have thought that it was a really good run."

"It's a very nice field of mares she faces today but we know she is definitely up to it."

Coeur Volante is already a Gr.2 winner over this same 1400m trip at Caulfield, taking out last spring's 1000 Guineas Prelude.

The third of our classy trio is Bankers Choice who takes his place in the final race of the day, the Listed Victoria Gold Cup.

The millionaire galloper has been racing in good form this campaign and looks to be one of the better chances in a race Michael described as "a pretty strong version of the race, one with no one stand-out but with a field of horses who none would surprise by winning."

Drawn 7 of 9 with Daniel Stackhouse aboard, Bankers Choice (pictured) is likely to strike rather firm going by that stage of the day but Michael notes that he has always been a horse happy on any sort of going.

"The only time he has failed has been when it got really heavy," he said, adding that the wind factor will play a hand in how the consistent seven-year-old is ridden today.

"The good thing about him is that is very versatile now, he can go forward or come back a bit so we can just work out the best way of tackling the race. There looks to be three of four others who go forward so I think it will be quite genuinally run."

"He is having a really good campaign and he should again run well."

We also have a runner at the Yarra Valley meeting where the lightly raced and promising filly Heat Of The Night is favourite in the second race, a 1200m maiden with nice VOBIS bonuses attached.

"She is having her first run back from a nice long break and we are really happy at what she has done getting ready for this race," Michael said.

"The 1200m might be a bit short for her but she is aided by a lovely draw (2) and a good rider in form (Tom Madden) and it is a really good starting point for her. This is hopefully the beginning of a nice campaign."