New Zealand Horse of the Year Well Written remains on track for the A$10 million Group 1 Golden Eagle (1500m) after losing her unbeaten record at Randwick last Saturday.
Well Written finished sixth in the Group 1 TAB Epsom Handicap (1600m) after an eventful run in which she received some buffeting in the straight when trying to mount a challenge.
Trainer Stephen Marsh said Well Written pulled up with “the thumps” or Synchronous Diaphragmatic Flutter. It is a condition known as Cardiac Arythmia and happens when the diaphragm contracts in sync with the heartbeat, resulting in a thumping-like noise.
“I’ve never actually had a horse with the thumps before, but about half an hour later she was good,” Marsh said, a day after the race.
“She was a little bit stressed, a little bit overheated; it was quite muggy, but even an hour later she seemed really good and today she’s great. I’m very happy with the way she looks and we’re certainly pushing on to the Golden Eagle.”
Well Written may not have been helped by being caught three-back on the rail, as most of the horses that figured in the finish in the last few races had been making their runs well out from the fence.
“They didn’t get a lot of rain but they seemed to get away from the rail very quickly, didn’t they,” Marsh said.
“The track wasn’t bad but it got quite rough in the straight. She came out a bit abruptly and she got pushed around quite a lot. I just think a whole lot of things worked against her – it was also a month between runs. Nothing quite worked out for us.”
In addition, three of the five horses ahead of her, including the winner God’s Window, carried 50kg compared to her 55kg. She would have been at least 7kg better off at weight-for-age and the only two horses ahead of her with higher weights were Ceolwulf and Tom Kitten, multiple Group 1 winners at 1600m.
“The weight was always a little bit of a question mark. It was a lot of weight for a mare, for sure,” Marsh said.
“But she certainly didn’t disgrace herself by any stretch of the imagination and, though there were some good horses in front of her, there were also some bloody good horses behind her.”
Marsh said no decision had been made yet about whether her Epsom jockey Zac Lloyd would be aboard for the Golden Eagle.
Back at home, Marsh’s three-year-old Shambo Jack put himself into contention for spring features when breaking his maiden in style over 1400m at Matamata last Saturday.
Third in the Listed Sir Colin Meads Trophy (1200m) at Hastings at his previous start, Shambo Jack came from well back to defeat the well-regarded filly Joyeuse by a head.
“I thought he won really well. It was a nice field of three-year-olds,” Marsh said.
“He’s a horse I’ve always really liked and he’s a better horse now we’re riding him off the speed. We’ve probably been riding him a bit handy.”
Shambo Jack will now be set for the Group 2 James & Annie Sarten Memorial (1400m) at Te Rapa on October 26, where a good effort there will likely persuade Marsh to head south for the Group 1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m).
Satomi finally breaks through
Hastings-trained Satomi capped off three second placings with a well-deserved victory in a maiden 2100m race at Wednesday’s Woodville meeting.
The Satono Aladdin six-year-old was having his 15th race start and had been runner-up on four occasions, the three most recent being over 2200m at Waverley in July, then over 2200m at Rotorua on August 12 and thirdly over 2100m at Hawera a fortnight ago.
The training combination of Paul Nelson and Corrina McDougal decided to keep the horse up to the mark by giving him a 1200m trial at Waipukurau on Tuesday of last week, where he finished second again, and the gelding went into Wednesday’s race superbly fit.
Punters sent Satomi out a hot $2.60 favourite and the horse was ridden a treat by experienced jockey Jonathan Riddell.
They were caught three-wide in the early stages so Riddell chose to push forward and take up the lead. He dictated the pace from then on and, when he asked his mount for the supreme effort at the top of the home straight, the horse surged clear for a length win.
Hawke’s Bay horses filled the first three placings in the race with the outsider Tukipo, prepared at Waipukurau by Allan Scarlett, finishing second while third went to Sicarius, trained at Hastings by Aaron Bidlake.
Riddell said Satomi was cruising in front going down the back straight and he was able to get a few cheap sectionals which helped the horse run out a strong 2100m.
Satomi is raced by Paul Nelson and his wife Carol, with others in the ownership including former Hawke’s Bay Racing course manager Richard Fenwick, his father Alistair and brother Brendan.
Ka Ying Rising pleases in barrier trial
It was smooth sailing for Ka Ying Rising in Sydney on Tuesday as the world’s best horse cruised through a 1000m barrier trial at Randwick in preparation for the world’s richest turf race - the Group 1 The Everest (1200m).
Staged on Saturday October 17 and worth A$20 million, The Everest was won last year by Ka Ying Rising for jockey Zac Purton and trainer David Hayes, as part of his 21-race unbeaten streak.
Nine-time Group 1 winner Ka Ying Rising – who leads the current LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings on 135 – stepped straight to the lead in Tuesday’s trial and remained at the head of the pack entering the home turn. Under restraint, Ka Ying Rising went stride for stride with Ninja before the latter edged ahead, under Tommy Berry, to finish a neck in front. The time for the trial was 59.46s, with the final 600m in 34.28s.
Relaxed and calm in the parade ring pre-trial, the six-year-old gelding was sweating up slightly prior to loading into the gates and then had to cope with a Soft-7 track.
Hayes, a dual Hong Kong Champion Trainer (1997/98 & 1998/99), said: “Better than last year, but I have seen him trial better. The way the track was, the longer grass and the soft ground wasn’t in his favour.
“He didn’t change legs; that’s always an indicator he’s going pretty easy. When Zac puts him under a bit of pressure he changes legs and finds a lot. It’s a pass mark today – but not exciting.
“But it is a trial, and we don’t screw him down for the trial and he will be screwed down a lot more for the race coming up. Just watch last year’s trial and watch the race, and he’s a little bit better this year in the trial and a little bit better hopefully in the race.
“The trial was probably run four seconds slower than race tempo. Zac was ambling into the straight, he won’t be doing that in the race. He’ll be letting rip.
“He’s 30 pounds bigger than he was this time last year. I think bigger is better.”
Ka Ying Rising was third in the corresponding barrier trial last year on a Good-4 track before success. Apocalyptic was third in Tuesday’s trial under Zac Lloyd, while Joliestar and James McDonald finished fourth.
Purton said: “He certainly needed the hit-out, he pulled up having a bigger blow than what he did from his race recently. The softer ground, the time between runs. It gets him back into the routine, gets him familiar with what’s going on here and we saw last year how much that helped him on race day and I think it will do the same.
“I’d prefer him to be on top of the ground, he likes it when it’s a hard and fast deck. As we’ve seen in the trial, and the trial last year, he seems to labour in the softer ground. Let’s hope the sun comes out and stays out.
“It’s going to be a strong race, people have been downplaying it and saying there’s not much there. But history tells us it’s the strongest sprint race on the calendar.”
If successful, the AU$7 million (approx. HK$38.36 million) for first in The Everest would elevate Ka Ying Rising’s earnings to just short of HK$200 million, a mark only surpassed by Romantic Warrior (HK$288.74 million).
Ka Ying Rising has broken six track records at Sha Tin, including five over 1200m.
Cox Plate field taking shape
It’s getting close to the 2026 Ladbrokes Cox Plate at Flemington racecourse, with third acceptances taken for the $6 million race last Tuesday.
The dream remains alive for 23 horses, up from 16 at the same stage last year, with the final field to be declared at midday on Tuesday, October 20.
Chris Waller leads the way with seven horses still in contention, including Aeliana, Autumn Boy and Birdman. Victory this year would give Waller his seventh Cox Plate, drawing him level with T.J. Smith for the most wins by a trainer in the famous race.
Ciaron Maher has five horses remaining, including Light Infantry Man, who finished fifth in the race last year. He is one of four 2025 runners still in contention, alongside Aeliana, Attrition, and Treasurethe Moment.
Early favourite Sir Delius, Turnbull Stakes winner Cosmic Crusader and three-year-olds Blind Raise, Diameter, Tron Bolt and Warwoven also remain in the hunt.