The already burgeoning Yulong Thoroughbred Racing and Breeding operation recently added another exciting prospect to their portfolio and gained an immediate return on investment when the filly Well Written smashed the opposition in the Group 1, NZ$600,000 New Zealand 1000 Guineas over a mile at Riccarton.
That result saw Well Written successfully defend her unbeaten record which she maintained in as near a perfect a manner as possible, now having a record of three wins from three starts with all of her victories being achieved in a most emphatic fashion.
Trained by Stephen Marsh and ridden on all three occasions by Matthew Cartwright, Well Written shed her Maiden ticket at Ellerslie by three lengths. She then followed that up with a 6.80 length romp in the Group 2 Soliloquy Stakes … and it was then that Yulong entered the ownership picture, purchasing a fifty percent share in the daughter of Written Tycoon.
That meant that Well Written carried the highly recognisable Yulong green and white colours to victory in the 1000 Guineas.
Interestingly enough, the New Zealand Herald has reported that ‘the deal was that Well Written is to be trained by Marsh her whole career.’
With her 2.50 length victory in the 1000 Guineas, Well Written’s three wins have come by a combined margin of 12.30 lengths. The time it took Well Written to move from her Maiden win (on September 20) to Group 1 glory was just forty-nine days!
She is only the third unbeaten winner of the 1000 Guineas in the last twenty years … behind Legarto (2022) and Seachange (2005).
Legarto went on to win the $1 million Australian Guineas at Flemington and the likelihood is that Well Written will take that route across the Tasman in time but, for now, it appears that the NZ$1.5 million NZB Karaka Million Three-Year-Old in January … or the NZ$700,000 Railway, also on Karaka Millions night … will be the stepping stone to her main target, the NZ$4m NZB Kiwi in March.
The NZB Kiwi is a slot race and Well Written, who should have no problem being confirmed as a starter, will be eligible to claim a share of an added NZ$1 bonus on offer to runners who have won a designated race beforehand and who finish in the first three in the NZB Kiwi.
