With the $1 million Blue Diamond Stakes in mind, Peter Moody is looking for further improvement in Reward For Effort's race manners in Sunday's Blue Diamond Prelude for colts and geldings at Caulfield.Moody said the Exceed And Excel colt was "a bit new" when he made an impressive debut, comfortably beating Rarefied and Bombay Sling in the Listed Blue Diamond Preview (1000m) for colts and geldings at Caulfield on January 26."He was a bit new around horses and he raced a bit green in the straight

With the $1 million Blue Diamond Stakes in mind, Peter Moody is looking for further improvement in Reward For Effort's race manners in Sunday's Blue Diamond Prelude for colts and geldings at Caulfield.

Moody said the Exceed And Excel colt was "a bit new" when he made an impressive debut, comfortably beating Rarefied and Bombay Sling in the Listed Blue Diamond Preview (1000m) for colts and geldings at Caulfield on January 26.

"He was a bit new around horses and he raced a bit green in the straight the other day so if he improved on that a little bit again we'll look forward to the Diamond in a couple of weeks," he said.

Moody has twice prepared the Diamond runner-up with Brief Embrace who chased home Bel Esprit in 2002 and Seidnazar who was second to Undoubtedly in 2005.

A $190,000 Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale purchase, Reward For Effort is out of the Rory's Jester mare Miss Prospect whose eight foals to race have all been winners, including Consular and Annie La Vie.

"We've always felt that he was good enough (for the Blue Diamond). We would have loved to have given him a run in the spring but he had a few babyish issues with shin-soreness, so now we are forced to have the two runs into the Diamond, all in the autumn.

"It's probably not overly ideal but it's been done before and he's a tough sort of a horse so I don't think it will worry him at all."

Stable jockey Luke Nolen will ride Reward For Effort who was ridden at his only start by Dwayne Dunn as Nolen was serving a suspension at the time.

The colt meets four other last-start winners on Sunday - Starspangledbanner, Real Saga, Killian and Bawaardi.

The race also marks the debut of Shoot Through, a $2.2 million brother to former outstanding sprinter Alinghi, and The Comedian, also an Encosta de Lago colt, who cost $1.7 million as a yearling.

Meanwhile, the Steve Richards-trained Rostova dominates betting on the fillies prelude as $1.40 favourite with TAB Sportsbet despite meeting four last-start winners in Exceedingly French, Quick Blush, Corsaire and Miss Republic.

If Rostova wins on Sunday she will then be trying to emulate Rancher (1982), Midnight Fever (1987) and Bel Esprit (2002) as only Blue Diamond winners who also won both a Preview and a Prelude on the way through.

The daughter of Testa Rossa is $3.20 favourite for the Blue Diamond at Caulfield on February 21 ahead of Real Saga at $7, Come Hither ($8), Reward For Effort ($10) with Starspangledbanner and Irish Lights next best at $14.