Well Written Secures Perfect Draw for Karaka Millions 3YO

Unbeaten filly and rising superstar Well Written (Written Tycoon) has dominated attention in the build-up to the $1.5m TAB Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m) at Ellerslie on Saturday, and Wednesday morning’s barrier draw has done nothing to change that.

Well Written was an $80,000 purchase by Stephen Marsh Racing and Dylan Johnson Bloodstock from the National Online Yearling Sale. She has so far turned that into $618,125 with four superb wins from her four-start career, including the Group One New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m), Group Two Auckland Guineas (1400m) and Group Two Soliloquy Stakes (1400m).

The Stephen Marsh-trained filly has drawn gate three among a 14-horse field for Saturday’s Karaka Millions 3YO, and she holds dominant favouritism at $1.50 on the TAB’s market.

“I wanted between gate one and five,” Marsh said. “Before Dylan went up, I told him to pull out number three, and he’s delivered.

“I’m very happy with her. She galloped beautifully at Ellerslie yesterday. She’s come through that well and had a quiet canter today.

“There’s been a huge amount of rain around, but I do think it’s a clearing forecast leading into the weekend. If that rain clears away on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and we get a reasonable track, I’m expecting her to run a huge race.

“We know how important draws are in races like this. For a filly like her, who jumps and puts herself there, gate three is great. The jockey Matt Cartwright just texted me ‘just what the doctor ordered’, and I couldn’t agree more. We’re all happy.

“The rest of the week will just be about some quiet cantering, keeping her happy and getting her to the races feeling good about life on Saturday.”

The second favourite is Te Akau Racing’s La Dorada (NZ) (Super Seth), who will attempt to join an exclusive club on Saturday. She won the $1m TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) at this meeting 12 months ago and could join Probabeel (NZ) (Savabeel) as only the second horse to ever complete the Karaka Millions 2YO-Karaka Millions 3YO double. Notably, both La Dorada and Probabeel were purchased by David Ellis at Karaka.

La Dorada was New Zealand’s champion two-year-old last season. After some mixed results through the early part of her three-year-old preparation, she returned to peak form with a last-start victory in the Group Two Levin Classic (1400m). La Dorada will jump from gate five.

“It was great to see La Dorada back in her best form in the Levin Classic,” co-trainer Sam Bergerson said. “She’ll take good confidence from that win. Going up to the mile suits, and she’s back at Ellerslie, where she’s run well previously. Craig Williams, who rode her in the Karaka Millions 2YO last year, is back on board.”

Fellow Matamata trainer Pam Gerard will line up three runners in the race. Romanoff (NZ) (Belardo) and Affirmative Action (Yes Yes Yes), who delivered a quinella in the Group One New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton in November, have drawn gates six and 10 respectively. Their up-and-coming stablemate Now Not Never (NZ) (Shocking) will jump from gate 13.

“I’m happy with all three draws, to be honest,” Gerard said. “It was a bit nerve-racking, the longer we waited. But the further we got into it, the better the draws looked.

“I’m happy with 10 for Affirmative Action. He loves to get out and do his own thing early. There’s a lot of speed out there, which could easily drag him into it really nicely. We love him when he comes off the pace. We think he’s a much better horse like that.

“Romanoff, I would have loved gate one, but not disappointed with six. He just needs to be covered up.

“Now Not Never is a bit of a last-minute entry, but he’ll just come across and be in behind them. With a lot of pace in there, it could suit him.

“There’s a lot of three-year-olds that are just coming to hand at the right time. You see them out there working, and you see them improving. They may not have started the season that well, but they’re just getting better and better and it makes it tougher and tougher.

“Once the gates open, who knows what can happen? As long as we’ve got our horses in the best condition we can, that’s all we can do.

“Well Written is very special, but there’s a couple of others in there I rate highly too, so it’s not going to be easy.

“I think it’s probably the best Karaka Millions 3YO we’ve had in a long time, and I’m just looking forward to getting out there and super happy that our team has three runners.”

The $1.5m TAB Karaka Millions 3YO will be run as the fifth race on a spectacular six-race card at Ellerslie on Saturday that carries total prize-money in excess of $4m. The scheduled start time for the Karaka Millions 2YO is 6.53pm.