An unbeaten New Zealand filly is emerging as a generational galloper with the world at her feet. Shane McNally reports.
Some of the comparisons may be as ambitious as they are premature, but the acceleration is breathtaking and Well Written has astute international judges keeping a close eye on New Zealand racing – and the 2026 Australian spring.
It’s not just that the Written Tycoon filly remains unbeaten, it’s the way she’s winning her races that captures the imagination.
Even Cambridge trainer Stephen Marsh thought his boom filly was in for a fight when she ranged up to He Who Dares 200m out in the Karaka Millions 3YO Classic at Ellerslie in late January, but she put the afterburners on and the race was over in an instant.
Well Written is already being called a superstar after five visits to the racetrack but, in fairness, that includes wins in Riccarton’s Group 1 New Zealand 1,000 Guineas, on just her third career start, and Ellerslie’s Group 2 Auckland Guineas, against the colts on her following outing.
And the trainer thinks it has only just begun.
“That turn of foot was really something at Ellerslie,” Marsh said. “She looked like she was just going to win but then, suddenly she was six lengths in front. She does it so fast, it makes me shake my head in disbelief. I remember after the Karaka race, thinking ‘what have we just seen?’”
Marsh said Well Written was “very immature when we got her, maybe that’s why we got her for just $80,000. But time has helped her grow into herself. She was always easy to train and quite sharp from her first jump outs, so we knew she was well above average.”
He said he “always thought she has a bit of freak about her, but every start she takes it up a notch. We’ve multiple Group 1 winners Provence and El Vencedor, but if Well Written continues the way she is, she’ll be the best I’ve had.”
Superstar wasn’t the only ‘S’ word being bandied about after her Ellerslie win. Some were comparing her with the immortal Sunline.
Trainer of the legendary Winx, Chris Waller has compared her to his emerging superstar Autumn Glow, while Yulong breeding guru Sam Fairgray believes the filly is “next level”.
Well Written’s regular jockey Matt Cartright just calls her “freakish”.
Marsh has no reservations about naming the filly one of the most exciting horses to race in New Zealand for years – high praise considering the quality of New Zealand’s best.
“Marsh has no reservations about naming the filly one of the most exciting horses to race in New Zealand for years – high praise considering the quality of New Zealand’s best.”
“We’ve had outstanding mares like Imperatriz, Avantage and Melody Belle, but people are going back beyond that and talking about her in the same breath as Sunline,” Marsh says. “It’s very early to make that call but I just find it exciting that she’s being mentioned in the same sentence as the great mare. Like Winx, she’s in a different hemisphere altogether, so it’s beyond belief that we’ve a filly worthy of comparison.”
Holding back comparisons
For all the noise coming out of the Shaky Isles, a trip to Australia may be necessary before the rest of the world dares to compare Well Written with one of the world’s greatest-ever mares.
This was the dual Cox Plate winner who won at the highest level in Hong Kong, ran third in Dubai and was never beaten in her homeland, where she’s treated with absolute reverence.
But before Well Written can satisfy the curious and the sceptical with a trip across the Tasman, she has to close out her three-year-old campaign in the richest race ever run in New Zealand – the NZ$4m NZB Kiwi at Ellerslie on Saturday 7th March.
It’s a 1600m race for three-year-olds and the filly’s presence has already scared the opposition to the point that she may only have a handful of rivals.
One step at a time
“Right now, let’s do this one step at a time,” Marsh says of his filly. “She runs in the Kiwi in March, and I think that will be enough for this campaign. She’ll be given a rest and brought back in the spring, when I’ll be looking at heading to Australia for a race like the Golden Eagle. It’s a A$10m race for four-year-olds, so it’s just perfect.”
Marsh said connections “won’t get too far ahead of ourselves, but we’ll keep shooting for the sky, while making sure we put the horse first. She’ll tell us where we’ll go, but that’ll be a good start.”
“We’ll keep shooting for the sky,” said Stephen Marsh, “while making sure we put the horse first. She’ll tell us where we’ll go.”
When the Golden Eagle is a starting point, the sky really is the limit.
In just seven runnings, the Sydney feature has been won three times by overseas horses – the UK’s Lake Forest, Japan’s Obamburumai and New Zealand’s I Wish I Win.
Last year, Australia’s newest sensation Autumn Glow captured the prize.
“For now,” said Marsh, “I’m concentrating on the Kiwi with the Golden Eagle our longer-term objective. Beyond that, who knows? I think the way she relaxes and travels in the run, she’ll get the 2000m, but there’s no need to stretch her out to that distance just yet.”
As the leading trainer of Stakes winners and prizemoney in New Zealand this season, Marsh knows a thing or two about placement.
With Well Written’s acceleration and temperament, however, he has a horse who places herself. And the world is watching.
Meanwhile in Europe, we looked at the shape of the 2026 European Pattern programme
View the latest Global Rankings for horses, owners, breeders, trainers and jockeys