Saturday's A$1.5-million G1 Blue Diamond S. produced something of a fairytale result, with Written By (Aus) (Written Tycoon {Aus}) justifying favouritism for owner/breeder Neville Begg. Begg, a former trainer himself who bought Written By's dam for A$3,000, is the father of Written By's trainer Grahame Begg, who also trained the sire. The unbeaten colt was ridden by young rider Jordan Childs, who picked up the mount after another rider was suspended prior to the colt's December debut. The Blue Diamond is the first Group 1 win for Childs, whose father Greg Childs had also won Victoria's premier juvenile race in the saddle.
Breaking well from the far outside, Childs was able to guide Written By towards the inside as they raced onto the course proper and they wound up in the two path, a joint second behind the front-running Crossing The Abbey (Aus) (Helmet {Aus}). Written By pulled alongside that rival rounding the bend while Lady Horseowner (Aus) (Equiano {Fr}) ranged up on his outside and Oohood (Aus) (I Am Invincible {Aus}) began to make progress from the back while very wide. When they turned for home, however, it was all about Written By. The chestnut hit the 200 about two lengths in front while racing slightly greenly and never truly looked like being beaten. Enbihaar (Aus) (Magnus {Aus}) and Oohood each made good late progress off wide trips but never threatened Written By, who hit the line 2 1/2 lengths the best.
Saturday, Caulfield, Australia
BLUE DIAMOND S.-G1, A$1,515,000, MRC, 2-24, 2yo, Open Set Weight, 1200mT, 1:09.86, Good.
1–WRITTEN BY, 56.5, c, 2, by Written Tycoon
1st Dam: Yau Chin, by Tobougg (IRE)
2nd Dam: Tilla's Daughter, by Umatilla (NZ)
3rd Dam: Dilemma, by Rory's Jester (AUS)
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Neville Begg & Partners Syndicate
(Mgrs: N C & Mrs Y J Begg); B-Neville Begg Investments Pty Ltd
NSW; T-G M Begg; J-Jordan Childs; A$915,000. Lifetime
Record: 3-3-0-0, A$1,133,000. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for
the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Enbihaar, 54.5, f, 2, Magnus–Charm's Honour, by Strada.
O-Shadwell Stud Australasia Ltd Syndicate (Mgr: G M Kelly);
B-Mr RJ Crabtree VIC; T-D & B Hayes & T Dabernig; J-C J Parish;
A$270,000.
3–Oohood, 54.5, f, 2, I Am Invincible–Bella Sunday, by Sunday
Silence (USA). O/B-Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al
Maktoum; T-Tony McEvoy; J-L Currie; A$135,000.
Margins: 2.5 len, 2.7 len, 4.0 len. Odds: 4.50, 20.00, 8.00.
Also Ran: Prairie Fire, Encryption, Aristocratic Miss, Qafila, Lady Horseowner, Ennis Hill, More Than Exceed (NZ), Kinky Boom, Long Leaf, Grand Symphony, Plague Stone, Run Naan, Crossing the Abbey. Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
The 87-year-old Neville Begg watched the race at home in Sydney with his wife Yvonne, and he said, “It's so exciting and it's an especially great result for Grahame. I've been breeding horses for 50 years, I'd say, but to get my first 2-year-old Group 1 with one I've bred is a big thrill for me and Yvonne and the family. The horse is such a tough fellow, he really won with authority today.”
Grahame Begg was formerly based in Sydney and took a year and a half hiatus from training beginning in 2014. He resurfaced with a stable in Victoria at Pinecliff on the Mornington Peninsula in July of 2016. Begg sent Written By out for a winning debut in a 1000 metre Sandown maiden on Dec. 2, and the colt returned with a half-length victory on Feb. 10 in the G3 Blue Diamond Prelude going 1100 metres. He shrugged off the wide outside barrier on Saturday to best the first and second of the G2 Blue Diamond Prelude for fillies, Enbihaar and Oohood.
Jordan Childs told Racing.com, “I was very lucky to get the ride but all you need in this game is an opportunity and it's amazing to be able to make the most of it like this. I know it's probably silly to say after the horse has just won the Blue Diamond but I think there's still some improvement to come.”
Disappointments of the race included Kinky Boom (Aus) (Spirit of Boom {Aus}), who broke last and never made up much ground; Ennis Hill (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), who appeared poised in the second flight of runners at the top of the stretch but faded thereafter; and Long Leaf (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), who raced near the rear and never made an impact.
Pedigree Notes…
Neville Begg purchased Written By's dam, Yau Chin, for A$3,000 out of the Scone Select Yearling Sale in 2007. The filly was trained for Begg and partners by Peter Morgan and won one of 10 starts. She has since proven much more effective as a producer, her first four foals all winners. Written By is her first black-type winner, and he is followed by a yearling full-brother and a colt foal by G1 Melbourne Cup winner Fiorente (Ire). Written By is the lone stakes winner under his first three dams, but his fourth dam is a half-sister to the G1 Guineas winner and successful sire Pins (Aus). Written By is by Written Tycoon, who was Australia's leading 2-year-old sire in 2015/16 the year his Capitalist (Aus) won the G1 Golden Slipper, and the Woodside Park sire can now boast victories in the country's two most prestigious juvenile races for his progeny.
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