Diamonds are a girl’s best friend - or so they say. But when it comes to trotting types, talented filly Desiring Diamonds sparkled during an excellent rookie season of racing.
The Rickie Alchin-prepared filly has made friends everywhere she’s been.
During a 10-start campaign throughout 2025, Desiring Diamonds travelled the entire east coast of Australia competing in feature events. And with great distinction.
Born and raised on the Darling Downs at Burwood Stud, the Wishing Stone – Hips bay filly was bred to be sold. Owner/breeders Daren and Gayle Garrard elected to nominate her for the 2024 Nutrien Sunshine Stars Yearling Stars Yearling Sale staged at Albion Park.
But after plenty of looks leading up to the sale and on sale day itself, the filly failed to meet reserve, and connections were left to take her home again.
“Looking back, I’m not sure what happened on Sales day. The reserve was around $20,000 for memory, which we thought met the market given her QBRED bonuses and eligibility to the Sales Series, but ultimately, nobody was prepared to take the risk,” Gayle explained.
“So, we took her home and decided to make plans about racing the filly ourselves and decided to send her south to Rickie (Alchin) given his liking for trotters and working with young stock. Rickie and Rex do an amazing job; they’re excellent young horsemen.”
Going back, the Garrard’s bought Hips in foal from Victoria but it wasn’t meant to be a straight-out purchase.
The Earl mare was in foal to Bacardi Lindy, and the resultant foal was Troythetrotter (Two wins, $22,000).
During a five-year stretch, Hips only produced one other foal (Dointheeaglerock by Aldebaran Eagle) that went unraced.
But in more recent years, the mare has delivered three straight foals: a big colt by Trixton, now in work with Gavin Crone, followed by Desiring Diamonds and a Lucky Chucky filly.
“Originally, I was looking to lease the mare but following three phone calls, it quickly evolved to outright purchase. Luckily, Daren and I really enjoy the trotters, so we didn’t really mind buying her,” Gayle said.
“Following a few misses and given the size of Troythetrotter, we were determined to send her to a smaller sized stallion and, given our involvement with Stallions Australasia, we decided Wishing Stone was the right fit for her. That’s how I came up with her race name.
“We got what we were hoping for with foaling, a neat sized correct filly. We put her and three others into the Sunshine Stars Yearling Sale the following year, three trotters and a pacer and we brought them all home after being passed in.”
After arriving in Sydney and joining the Alchin stables, the filly was quickly dubbed ‘Hippo’, and it wasn’t owing to her parentage.
“She was huge and it took some doing to strip the weight off her, but from the very moment she arrived her attitude was obvious. [She was] intelligent and very aware of her surroundings, which gave us some hope she might make it as a racehorse,” Alchin said.
“I did most of the early work with her while Rex (Ricky Hunt, stable foreman) also chimed in and he even said her attitude was her best asset. Each prep the improvement was noticeable, so we kept grinding away and she enjoyed the work.”
Following months of work, the Garrards laid eyes on their filly for the first time since being sent south when the TAB Eureka was staged in September (2024) and were impressed with the transformation and progress being made.
But Alchin was in no rush with his latest trotting talent. He was prepared to play the long game knowing that her big money events were in the back half of the season.
Three qualifying trials at Menangle in June prompted a trip back to Brisbane as a traveling companion with his winter carnival team the following month.
“She was very unprepared for the Queensland trip at the time, but I thought I’d take her for the experience and she just kept improving. It worked out very well for her,” Alchin said.
“I gave her two more qualifying trials up there with Angus (Garrard) driving before I started her in late July. She went well on debut and got beaten by a smart Victorian youngster (Iconic Image) so we then realised the upcoming features were within reach.
“Going into the Group 2 QBRED Triad with three starts under her belt, she finished a solid third behind Iconic Image and Kicking Horse in what was a sprint home affair.
“And, then in the QBRED Springboard Final, that was a learning experience for all. She was going to win that race before making a break at the home turn. It was disappointing at the time, but we learned a valuable lesson that day.”
The next target for Desiring Diamonds came via the Listed $75,000 Nutrien Equine Classic Race Series 2YO Fillies Final at Melton in Melbourne.
With just three weeks between the Springboard Final and the Melbourne race, Alchin squeezed in two trials at Redcliffe and Penrith before producing her for the feature.
Desiring Diamonds finished fourth behind Jilliby Aura at Melton before again returning to Brisbane.
Still a maiden, Desiring Diamonds shook that tag with a stylish victory on October 31 at Albion Park before repeating the dose the following week.
And, then in her final start of the season, in the $50,000 Sunshine Stars 2YO Mixed Sex Classic Final at Albion Park on November 21, Desiring Diamonds scored comfortably and ended her rookie campaign on a three-race win streak.
In total, 10 starts for three wins and four placings while being placed fourth in the other three starts while banking $47,000 plus bonuses.
“Excellent season. We secured the main objectives; the QBRED bonus plus the Sunshine Stars race series. She’ll go for a good break now, probably 10 to 12 weeks off because I think we’ll just focus on the Queensland features next season,” Alchin said.
“I recently bought a farm at Temora comprising of 100 acres called Harpleyvale (formerly owned by Rickie’s late grandfather Russell) where I can spell some of horses and have broodmares reside for my owners like Alf LaSpina, Peter Hayes and the Garrard’s.
“Given the amount of time we spend it Queensland each year, the relationship with Daren and Gayle has just continued to grow and it’s good to do business with them and I’m hoping the relationship continues because they also enjoy the fun side of things.”
It’s amazing how things play out in the racing game; you just never know.
But here’s hoping the little trotting filly Desiring Diamonds continues to shine brightly.
