Hanseatic impresses in stylish Preview win

Hanseatic has confirmed his Blue Diamond Stakes favouritism with a winning return at Caulfield.

Impressive colt Hanseatic has stamped his Blue Diamond credentials in emphatic fashion with a convincing victory in one of the Previews at Caulfield.

The Anthony Freedman-trained colt won the Listed Merson Cooper Stakes on debut at Sandown in November and returned in style in Saturday’s Listed Blue Diamond Preview for colts and geldings over 1000m.

After sitting back and wide from a deep barrier draw, $2.10 favourite Hanseatic quickly pounced in the home straight under jockey Luke Currie, sprinting to the front passing the 200m.

He surged clear to win by 2-1/2 lengths over Glenfiddich with debutant Fixated another 1-1/2-lengths away third.

Freedman won last year’s Blue Diamond with filly Lyre and said Hanseatic had been their obvious top seed heading towards this year’s race.

“That’s what you want to see,” Freedman said.

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“Obviously going forward to bigger races you want to see them put up a performance like that and put themselves ahead of them in an emphatic way.

“He’ll improve off today. He was a bit fresh and I’ll probably run him again in two weeks in the Prelude because of that.”

The Group Three Prelude (1100m) for colts and geldings is on February 8, two weeks before the $1.5 million Group One Blue Diamond (1200m) for two-year-olds at Caulfield on February 22.

“I think this colt might need the racing and getting used to the routine of race day,” Freedman said.

“He was a bit hot at Sandown and he was a bit hot again today.”

Currie said Hanseatic was a pretty smart colt and showed his class despite a less-than-ideal run.