QUEENSLAND-bred stallion Written Tycoon has now sired the winners of Australia’s two pre-eminent 2YO Group 1 sprint races, the Golden Slipper at Rosehill, Sydney and the Blue Diamond Stakes at Caulfield, Melbourne – both 1200m in distance.
Two years ago, Queensland-bred colt Capitalist won the Golden Slipper having earlier won the Magic Millions 2YO Classic. Now another Written Tycoon colt Written By has provided the second leg of the elite double by winning the Blue Diamond at Caulfield on Saturday, February 25.
Now based in Victoria at Woodside Park, Written Tycoon (Iglesias/Party Miss) was bred at Jan Clark’s Daandine Stud, Goomburra (which also bred and sold Capitalist). During a brief racing career Written Tycoon was a juvenile Group 2 winner and twice stakes placed before embarking on a stud career that has provided almost 360 winners (22 stakes winners) and total earnings of more than $35.5 million from nine crops to race. Written By now becomes Written Tycoon’s fifth Group 1 winner joining Capitalist, Music Magnate and Tycoon Tara in Australia and Luna Rossa in New Zealand.
Such is his popularity, that only once in his 11 seasons at stud has his book dropped below 100 mares while his service fee has multiplied 10 times from $8250 in 2007 to $88,000 in 2017.
Written By races in the familiar Begg family colours of black, white and red that were carried to Group 1 glory by former stable stars Bonanova and Monopolize. Hall Of Fame trainer Neville Begg has had a lot of thrills in his 87 years, but few rank higher than breeding and racing the Group 1 winning juvenile giving Begg his first 2YO Group 1 winner as a breeder/owner and his Victorian-based trainer son Grahame another top-level success.
Begg watched the race at his Sydney home with his wife Yvonne. Begg bought Written By’s mother, the winning Tobougg (Ire) mare Yau Chin, from the Scone Select Yearling Sale for $3000 in 2007. Written By is her fourth foal to race, and all are winners. In fact, Grahame Begg also trained Written Tycoon and Yau Chin at different stages during their racing careers.
With his female line tracing back to No Finer – dam of multiple stakes winners including Group 1 Australian Guineas winner and outstanding Waikato Stud sire Pins – Written By extended his unbeaten record to three wins (including the Group 3 Blue Diamond Prelude for colts & geldings) from three starts for $1,133,000 in earnings.
Catalogued at last year’s Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale where he was prepared by Basinghall Farm, Written By was retained by Neville Begg after being passed-in at $180,000 with a $200,000 reserve.
Interstate celebrations
THREE states – Victoria, NSW and Queensland – shared the celebrations last weekend with Written Tycoon’s son, Written By winning the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes in Melbourne, and Zoustar's daughter Sunlight extending her winning streak when landing the Group 2 Silver Slipper in Sydney.
While Sunlight was conceived at Widden Stud in 2014, her sire Zoustar can be listed as interstate shuttle stallion following an arrangement between Widden Stud in NSW and Woodside Park in Victoria to stand Zoustar for alternate seasons. The dual Group1 winning sprinter stood seasons 1 (2014) and 3 (2016) at Widden Stud and seasons 2 (2015) and 4 (2017) at Woodside Park.
In fact, Zoustar and Written Tycoon have common links – both are Queensland-bred and more specifically both spent time at an Innisplain property near Beaudesert that has seen numerous name changes. Zoustar was foaled there in 2010 when the property was called Racetree while Written Tycoon stood the 2012 season there under the banner of Eliza Park International (now known as Sun Stud).
That was his sole season in Queensland. Having begun his stud career in Victoria at Eliza Park, Written Tycoon was sold for an undisclosed figure in 2013 and re-located to Victoria’s Woodside Park.
Zoustar (Northern Meteor/Zouzou) sold twice as a youngster through Magic Millions. Bred by Kevin Dixon at Racetree, he was bought by Kulani Park for $85,000 at the 2011 National Weanling Sale.
Kulani Park on-sold him to a syndicate headed by Sheriff Iskander for $140,000 at the 2012 Magic Millions Gold Coast yearling sale. Coincidently, Iskander also raced Written Tycoon after buying him out of the Grahame Begg stable.
"It would be incredible for Woodside Park Stud if we had Zoustar’s Sunlight and Written Tycoon’s Written By going head to head in the Golden Slipper," Woodside Park Stud’s Matt Tillett said. "The current 2YO Sire tables have just been released, and there are Zoustar and Written Tycoon, one – two. It’s a brilliant achievement for Woodside Park Stud,” he said.
Already the winner of the recent Magic Millions 2YO Classic, Sunlight is owned by an all-female syndicate that includes Emerald-based Rae Fletcher and daughters Jordan and Shannon. The Fletcher connection come about because Rae’s husband Dan Fletcher is listed as a co-breeder of Sunlight after he joined up with Widden Stud in a mare ownership venture that includes Sunlight’s dam – the Group 3 winning Charge Forward mare Solar Charged. Consequently, when the filly sold for $300,000 at last year’s Magic Millions yearling sale the Fletcher family decided to retain an interest.
Black Caviar daughter wins again
OSCIETRA – the first offspring of world champion sprinter Black Caviar – opened her autumn campaign with a strong win at Ballarat, Victoria, on Sunday, February 25.
The 3YO Exceed And Excel filly improved her record to 2 wins from 4 starts when leading throughout to score a comfortable 1.5 length win in a benchmark 64 handicap over 1000m.
"It's nice to get her back on track winning and she should just continue to get better and better," co-trainer David Hayes told racing.com. Black Caviar (Bel Esprit/Helsinge) is recognised as one of Australia's greatest ever racehorses whose perfect record of 25 wins without defeat, including a remarkable 15 at Gr1 level, is unprecedented in Australian racing history.
Final Results for Karaka 2018
NEW Zealand Bloodstock's Karaka Sale ring hosted a brand new format at the 92nd National Yearling Sales Series with key figures over the six days of trading from January 28 to February 4 reaching phenomenal heights.
New Zealand Bloodstock reports that – in a decade-high – the aggregate totalled $97,157,750 versus last year's turnover of $82,015,500. The average increased significantly to $106,183 from last year's $86,973 and the median surpassed last year's $55,000 when it reached a record-breaking $75,000.
The clearance rate was a pleasing 81 percent – up four percentage points seen in 2017. Two million-dollar lots sold this year with a Savabeel colt topping the sale at $1.025 million. There were 19 yearlings sold for $500,000 or more – up from nine in 2017 – with fillies in hot demand accounting for 12 of the top prices. They sold at a strong average of $110,896 compared to the colts who settled at an average of $103,318.