By Jonny Turner
On current form, Nathan Williamson appeared to have an excruciating call to make ahead of the Group 2 Macca Lodge–Nevele R Stud Southern Oaks on Diamonds Day at Ascot Park on Sunday.
Williamson opted for the tried and true in Captains Mistress, who will clash with her exciting and unbeaten stablemate Utah Jazz in Southland’s premier event for three-year-old fillies.
Now that it has been made, the trainer-driver won’t lose any sleep if it turns out to be the wrong one.
“Obviously training both of them and both being raced by Mick Boots, I am going to be pretty stoked if one of them can beat the other and get the job done.”
“I have gone with the proven filly at this stage in Captains Mistress.”
“There is no doubting her class and I am really happy with where she is at.”
“It is not to say Utah Jazz can’t come out and beat her, because she is very progressive.”
“But until she gets out there on Sunday, she’s yet to prove herself in Group company.”
Captains Mistress (10) looks to have a slight draw advantage over Utah Jazz (7), who must start wide on the front row for driver Craig Ferguson.
“She’s a good filly, but from the draw it could be a little bit tricky for her.”
“It will be up to Craig but I can see him having to slot back somewhere, because there looks to be a lot of speed inside her.”
“Hopefully they do go hard.”
What Utah Jazz has clearly over her star stablemate is recent racing.
Captains Mistress has had just one recent start, compared to Utah Jazz’s three.
However, a lack of fitness is not something Williamson is expecting to be an issue for his favourite.
“She is very well in herself, she will improve with more racing but she is pretty well where she needs to be.”
“If she doesn’t have any bad luck and gets a reasonable enough run, I’d expect her to be hard to beat.”
Williamson also starts a key contender in the Group 2 Alabar Southern Supremacy Stakes Final in Always Dreaming.
The three-year-old is similar to Captains Mistress in that he’s only had one run leading into a major event.
Similarly, he doesn’t think a lack of fitness will be an issue for his charge.
“He has sharpened up off his run last week.”
“He has been one of those horses that if you throw in the deep end, he will swim.”
“He came home licked the bowl and his work has really sharpened up.”
“The draw (10) is the only real issue for him, but I still expect him to be very competitive.”
Williamson also starts Duchess Maria in the Group 3 Entain Southern Classic.
The debutante looks a genuine winning threat following her strong recent trials.
Miraculous and Secret Agent Man are also among the trainer’s powerful Diamonds Day line-up.
Jonny Turner’s five to follow on Diamonds Day :
Betterthancash
The saying “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” seems to apply perfectly to Betterthancash. The pacer has been brilliant in all his recent outings in the southern country cups, especially with his last-start win at Winton. Previously, Betterthancash had taken full advantage of starting from the front line, but he came off a handicap and did significant mid-race work in his big Winton Cup win. Though he again faces a handicap in the Southern Country Cups Final, 10m looks very workable for Betterthancash, who beat almost all of his key rivals in that last-start victory. All signs point to another strong effort from the four-year-old, and there seem to be even fewer reasons for punters to lose faith in him.
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Seaside Rose
She’s been absolutely in the zone in her last two starts in Southland, and the timing of Diamonds Day 2025 couldn’t be better for her. Seaside Rose jogged to victory in the Southern Belle Speed Series Final at Winton last weekend, not appearing as though she ran a sharp time as she cruised clear of her rivals. The mare drops in grade on Sunday, and though she starts from a tough draw in barrier 8, she looks well capable of delivering a crushing victory. Secret Agent Man poses the clearest threat to the mare. He was just OK in his last start at Wyndham, but expect trainer Nathan Williamson to have the pacer finely tuned for a bigger Diamonds Day performance.
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Jumal
How do they beat the red-hot favourite in Diamonds Day’s Group 1 feature? Given he’s comprehensively dealt to many of his rivals leading into Sunday’s clash, it’s a question with few strong answers. Jumal has looked explosive in his short career, and though Group One events are never easy to win, Sunday’s race appears to have come along at the perfect time for this youngster. He’s trained by a master in Steven Reid, who is rarely without a classy horse in his barn. An in-form Samantha Ottley takes the reins from barrier 6, which seems the only slight negative. However, in a field of just seven —with the scratching of D Mac, who has been sold to Perth interests — that draw doesn’t look like a massive hurdle to overcome.
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Julie Jaccka
Winning her last two starts would ordinarily put Julie Jaccka in an awkward spot on Diamonds Day. But rather than copping the usual 14 rating points for those victories, the mare has only gone up three thanks to the junior concession of driver Dan Anderson. That puts Julie Jaccka on a very workable 10m handicap, where she looks ideally placed against horses she has mostly beaten in recent weeks. Usually beginning smartly and possessing a nice turn of foot, she must again rate a big winning threat if she can stay handy to the speed. Practical Magic — the often tipped and regularly beaten mare who has been written about extensively in this column — is the clear danger to the favourite. She again gets the advantage of the front line and could take some catching, especially if she can put a buffer between herself and Julie Jaccka.
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Brewster Baker
It concerning enough that Brewster Baker doesn’t bring proven manners to today’s juvenile trotting feature. However, most of his rivals are in the same position, being baby square-gaiters. Brewster Baker produced a brilliant win in his last start, staging a big recovery from an early gallop at Addington. While he’s clearly risky, so too is his main rival and favourite, Who’s Ya Daddy, who broke and then recovered to run third in the same race.
While early-season two-year-old trotting features are not for the faint-hearted, those who choose to play into the race can follow Brewster Baker, knowing he’s shown on exposed form that he’s the most talented horse in the field so far. It’s surprising he hasn’t been installed as the early favourite for the Entain Southern Classic, so he may offer more value on Sunday than he possibly will going forward.
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