Image: LoveRacing.NZ
Well Written is still undefeated.
With her Boxing Day success, the three-year-old star filly has now added the Gr 2 Jimmy Schick Shaw’s Auckland Guineas to her CV, including the career-shaping hot form that has taken her from her maiden win, through her success in the Group 2 Soliloquy Stakes and on to that thunderous romp in the Group 1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas… an astonishing three-race blitz from Maiden Company to Group 1 stardom in just forty-nine days.
From that result at the 1000 Guineas in New Zealand until her win on Boxing Day, Well Written got forty-eight days of racing action… just one day short of the previous three-race winning spell, and so she came into the Auckland Guineas first over 1400 meters… she had started over 1200 meters on her debut… Her fitness and the quality of the opposition could leave Well Written vulnerable in the closing stages if the race did not go according to the rules.
“I’ve never felt this way before a race in a long time,” Marsh admitted. “I’ve been sick of it all week… we hadn’t got her all set up yet. She doesn’t do much at work, so it’s hard to get a handle on it.
‘I knew she could be vulnerable, but we didn’t want to come here and beat her up.
“I told Matt (Cartwright) to take care of her until the end… not to go too early and to ride her with patience. He did exactly that. I thought Matt did a great job,” Marsh continued.
“I’m very proud of her. It was a great race and two top three-year-olds battled it out.
“It looked a little hairy for a moment, but I knew she was going to stretch her neck late. You could really see her finding it. She knew where the line was.”
“I definitely felt a little pressure today… but I’m relieved now. It makes it all worth it.”
“I could feel it. I had to calm down afterward… I didn’t want to get a tear in my eye, but I held it together well.”
That’s what the win meant for Marsh and what it meant to keep the Chestnut’s perfect record intact.
That’s now four out of four.
Well Written is now expected to play the Karaka Millions on January 24, before moving on to The Kiwi, a NZ$4 million final race on March 7, for which she has already secured her place in the line-up.
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