Crystal Lily's connections are warming to running the Victorian flyer in the $3.5 million Golden Slipper in April.By 2005 Slipper winner Stratum, Crystal Lily is among 16 nominations for Saturday's Blue Diamond Fillies Prelude (1100m) at Caulfield.But co-trainer Simon Zahra, who prepares Crystal Lily along with Mathew Ellerton, says the plan is to bypass the Prelude and go straight into the $1 million Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield on February 20.Then, if all goes to script, she will h

Crystal Lily's connections are warming to running the Victorian flyer in the $3.5 million Golden Slipper in April.

By 2005 Slipper winner Stratum, Crystal Lily is among 16 nominations for Saturday's Blue Diamond Fillies Prelude (1100m) at Caulfield.

But co-trainer Simon Zahra, who prepares Crystal Lily along with Mathew Ellerton, says the plan is to bypass the Prelude and go straight into the $1 million Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield on February 20.

Then, if all goes to script, she will head to Sydney for a crack at the Golden Slipper (1200m) at Rosehill on April 3.

"If she can run a solid 1200 (metres) she goes to the Slipper, otherwise we'll just re-evaluate," Zahra said.

"The Diamond has always been our main goal but it's natural to go on to the Slipper if she performs well in the Diamond.

"There's not much of her and that's why we opted to go straight to the Diamond. We have the luxury of having enough prizemoney for the Diamond as well."

Crystal Lily produced a brilliant frontrunning performance to win the Blue Diamond Preview (1000m) at Caulfield on Australia Day.

"I can't see any reason she couldn't run the 1200 metres after the way she's been hitting the line so far," Zahra said.

"She's pretty versatile, she can take a sit, she doesn't have to go a hundred miles an hour and ping off the front."

Crystal Lily sent a minor scare through her connections last start when she reared in the barriers before the race.

But Zahra says the filly is always a bit jumpy.

"We got a little bit worried but she's very flighty and always on the toe and her back legs and that's the way you've got to have her," Zahra said.

Crystal Lily is having her second preparation after going close at stakes level in her first campaign.

Out of the Snippets mare Crystal Snip, Crystal Lily was a short half-head second to Dark Valley in the Debutants Stakes (1000m) at Caulfield last October.

A month later Crystal Lily was a close third to Blue Diamond Prelude contender She's Got Gears over the same distance at Flemington on Melbourne Cup day.

"That was all on her breakers' prep, she came straight from the breakers," Zahra said.

"Generally when that's the case they stay in work for a couple of weeks and we give them an education and put them out but she got stronger and stronger and was doing so well we kept her going.

"Her main attribute is her great cruising speed and she can kick off the front and generally those sorts of horses are hard to run down."

If she does run well in the Blue Diamond Zahra said a possible option would be to give the filly a freshen-up and one more start before the Slipper.

"We don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves, so we'll go to the Blue Diamond and take it as it comes from there," Zahra said.

"The Blue Diamond will answer a lot of questions for us."