Blue Diamond hopeful Hafey, named after Australian football icon Tom Hafey, poised to debut at CaulfieldRosemont Victorian Alliance colt and Blue Diamond hopeful Hafey — a namesake of Australian football icon Tom Hafey — is on track to debut at Caulfield.
Gilbert Gardiner
The Mercury
January 31, 2022 Hafey has the potential to make retro Adidas T-shirts into Blue Diamond race day vogue, should the colt advance towards the prized stallion-making Group 1.
Rosemont Stud-owned colt Hafey, slated to debut this Saturday at Caulfield or the next, is the Australian rules-themed Victorian Alliance’s only Blue Diamond aspirant.
The Group 3 Chairman’s Stakes (1000m) is an option for trainers Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, who will also consider the Group 3 Blue Diamond Prelude (1100m) on February 12 at Caulfield.
Despite launching the Alliance with 12 colts — named after State of Origin legends — Hafey is an unapologetic favourite of Rosemont boss and former Richmond board member Anthony Mithen.
“We missed on a few of the Tiger names,” Mithen said.
“We were keen on (Dale) Weightman and (Kevin) Bartlett but they were unavailable unfortunately, so we only managed to squeeze ‘T-shirt Tommy’ in there.
“What a Tiger to get! I was quite happy with that.”
Flemington winner Brereton and Quinlan have debuted for the Alliance.
The unraced but developing squad includes Daicos, Dunstall, Millane, Silvagni and Whitten.
Hafey was runner-up in a Cranbourne trial last Monday with Jamie Kah aboard.
“They’ve had a good wrap (Hafey) since the first time he hit the Maher-Eustace stable,” Mithen said.
“We think he’ll acquit himself pretty well, he’ll probably be a nicer horse in time, but you don’t get the time trying to win Group 1 races with these colts to turn them into stallions.”
Rosemont also bred and part-owns Blue Diamond contenders Counttheheadlights and Roaring Lion.
Mithen has fond memories of the Richmond icon Tom Hafey, from growing up in Geelong through to his tenure on the Richmond board.
“He lived about 10 doors down the road,” Mithen said.
“Myself and younger brother Ted, we’d kick the footy until it got too dark on the road and Tommy would quite often pull up, wind down the window and give us some encouraging words.”
Mithen’s brother and Rosemont general manager Ted even rocked up on the Hafey’s doorstep as a young Tigers’ tragic.
“Unbeknown to any of us, he would’ve been eight (years old), went and knocked on the door and said ‘G‘day I’m Ted Mithen’.
“Tommy’s been a part of our lives since we were knee high to a grasshopper, it would be good if his namesake could live up to the man that Tommy was.”
https://www.themercury.com.au/sport/superracing/blue-diamond-hopeful-hafey-named-after-australian-football-icon-tom-hafey-poised-to-debut-at-caulfield/news-story/a253e7f3406add7ce7e08f6e22d72a8b
