THE Mornington trainers made their presence felt at Caulfield for Blue Sapphire day by claiming back-to-back stakes races on Wednesday 17 October.
Written By, for Pinecliff-based trainer Grahame Begg, continued his unbeaten preparation and maintained his undefeated status at Caulfield by claiming the $350,000 Group Three Blue Sapphire Stakes at his second run back from a spell.
The Group One Blue Diamond winner bought up his fourth victory from four starts at the track and continued his progression towards the Group One Coolmore Stud Stakes at Flemington on Saturday 3 November.
The three-year-old son of Written Tycoon scored a comfortable all-the-way victory over Godolphin’s challenger Encryption and Lindsay Park’s Tony Nicconi.
Despite taking up the running in the field of five, Begg believes the colt could also take a trail behind the leaders when he gets to Flemington for his main assignment.
“It would be nice to see him get a sit one day but circumstances haven’t allowed him,” Begg said.
“But he sat behind them in the Blue Diamond even though he was wide but when he gets a dead-set camp on him I reckon he’ll really let down.”
Begg said that there should also still be some improvement left in Written By as he nears his peak for the Coolmore Stud Stakes.
“I thought he was about 80-85 per cent right first-up and I think he’s about 90 (per cent) now. (We’ve) just left a bit of juice in the orange.”
Following Written By’s victory, the Shane Nichols-trained mare I Am A Star continued on her winning ways by claiming her third straight victory in the Group 3 Ted Baker Ladies’ Day Vase (1600m).
Just as Written By controlled the pace in the race prior, I Am A Star made all the running in the Group Three before giving a kick in the straight to run away with the victory.
That win made it a hat-trick of victories for the mare having also claimed the Group Two Stocks Stakes (1600m) at The Valley and the Group Two Let’s Elope Stakes (1400m) at Flemington in her two prior starts.
While the Group One Myer Classic, which she won as a three-year-old in 2016, has always been a spring goal, Nichols revealed that I Am A Star could also back-up a week later against the boys in the Emirates Stakes (2000m).
“I’d like to (run her in the Emirates) but I don’t know whether I’d be given the tick of approval,” he said.
“If all of a sudden, Winx has her Cox Plate and wanders off to the paddock, it would be silly not to.
“She’s two-and-a-half weeks into the Myer now but she won the Myer off seven days, so why not (have a go).”
Other notable mentions from the day include the Matt Laurie-trained gelding Real Success who just missed in the second race of the day as well as the Anthony Freedman-trained galloper Danon Roman who finished a narrow runner-up in the last event on the card.
First published in the Mornington News – 23 October 2018
