YOUNG LEGEND was a convincing winner over the track and trip 3 weeks ago when resuming and given how well that race rated, it would be no surprise if he landed the spoils again. Zac Purton rode him on that occasion but the Champion hoop jumps ship to DIAMOND BRILLIANT for tonight, the horse that started favourite for Race 559. Obviously, with Jack Wong on board Young Legend, it is hard to be overly confident, but the market looks to be seeing it that way too and he’s not a bad price. I thought Diamond Brilliant had his chance when they met, but how the market continues to react will be interesting. That said, the horse to beat is probably Shining Gem. He was particularly good finishing the runner-up to Winning Method and producing the best final-400m (22.37) at the meeting. From barrier 1 he possibly won’t be conceding too much ground this time around, although if he got to three-back the fence or worse, that would be far from ideal on the “A” course. Shining Gem is short enough in early betting though. VICTORIAM is badly drawn but has been holding his form well and if he isn’t forced to cover too much ground then he might be competitive. LE TERROIR is a very interesting horse and was better last time. He’s down to a “winning mark”, he seems to perform better at Happy Valley, and so at a bit price he really piques my interest. He featured in my recent SID of M61, so he should be a small win outlay and if playing exotics, include him. The other horse at the prices I’ll be betting is Young Legend, but won’t be taking a huge stand against Shining Gem.