Some of Godolphin’s hopefuls for Blue Diamond series races will step out in trials at Sandown on Tuesday.

Godolphin has seven youngsters entered to trial at the track which will host the Blue Diamond Previews on January 26.

Head trainer John O’Shea says how they perform in the trials will help determine which horses will run in the respective Previews for fillies and colts and geldings.

Among the seven nominated to trial is Mesa who was placed in the Merson Cooper Stakes on debut.

He is one of three of the seven that are among second declarations for the Group One Blue Diamond.

“Obviously Mesa is very smart and there’s some quite nice fillies there that will trial,” O’Shea said.

“There’s a filly who trialled in Sydney called Promenades who will come down and run in the Preview.

“I probably thought we’d have two fillies and two colts in each version (of the Previews).”

“Mesa would run in the colts race and we’ve got a couple of colts running in Sydney in the next fortnight that quite feasibly could come down.”

Godolphin had 14 juveniles among the 199 Blue Diamond nominations at the second declaration stage last week including Golden Slipper favourite Ottoman.

O’Shea said Ottoman, who assumed Slipper favouritism over Furnaces with her debut win in Sydney in December, was four weeks off a trial.

“She’s going great,” O’Shea said.

“She could quite easily be a Blue Diamond runner.”

O’Shea said there were a dozen of the stable’s juveniles still in Blue Diamond consideration.

“The best will run and the worst won’t,” he said.

“I’d be rapt if we could get multiple runners. It’s a serious race.”

Furnaces, a 6-1/4 length winner of his only start at Rosehill in October, has been ruled out of a Melbourne campaign and will be aimed solely at the Slipper in late March.

But for the others, O’Shea said the Blue Diamond, three weeks before the $3.5 million Golden Slipper, was an option as part of a Slipper campaign.

“You could have one run (in Sydney) then come down for the Blue Diamond, or run in the Prelude and then run in the Blue Diamond and then go up and run in the Slipper.

“It’s something we’ve got to give consideration to. It’s a Group One race.”

Article from justhorseracing.com.au