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Written Tycoon sires 11th Group 1 winner.
This season has very much been the Written Tycoon (Iglesia) show and on Saturday there was another scintillating episode when his daughter Odeum (3 f ex Movie by Red Ransom) etched an 11th Group 1 on to his CV when she proved far too good for her rivals in the Thousand Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) at Caulfield.
Trained by Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr, Odeum raced clear after turning for home and hit the line a length-and-three-quarters ahead of Personal (Fastnet Rock), with Instant Celebrity (Not A Single Doubt) - who surrendered her unbeaten record - running home strongly another neck away in third.
The filly was purchased by Seamus Mills for $420,000 at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale from the Newhaven Park draft and he told Racing & Sports Bloodstock she was a stand-out as a yearling at the sales.
"She was one of those horses who was over mature even for a January sale," said Mills. "She was big and well-grown. When Mick [Price] and Michael [Kent jnr] send all the updates they talk about the leg underneath her. She was probably even too mature for the January sale, she had a heap of leg underneath her. If you had kept her for Easter you would have had a monster, so I can understand why they took her to the Magic Millions."
It is well documented the high regard Mills holds the now Arrowfield Stud-based sire Written Tycoon in and he said it was great to see the stallion finally garnering the recognition he deserved.
"What he has done this season is phenomenal," said Mills. "I sent him ten mares last year and I sent him another seven or eight this year and I don't think anyone has supported the horse more than me, so to see what he is doing now is a huge joy.
As for the next target for the filly she will either head to the Moonee Valley Fillies Classic (Gr 2, 1600m) or the Myer Classic (registered as the Empire Rose Stakes) (Gr 1, 1600m), where she will get the three-year-old fillies allowance, however should the filly not come out of the race in tip-top shape they will send her for a spell.
"Sounds like a cliche, but we are very much about letting the horse tell us what she wants to do and if she shows any sign of having enough she will be going straight to the paddock," said Mills.
The result also handed Kent Jnr his first Group 1 since joining forces with Price and Mills, who was racing manager for Price before going it alone, said the trainer is in the best form of his life.
"Mick rang me and he is absolutely over the moon and I am over the moon for them," said Mills. "Obviously I have had a long connection with Mick Price - I was his racing manager for years before I went out on my own and I have a long association there.
"I think they have gone to the next level over the last few years and I don't think Mick has ever trained better. The patience on the horses is amazing and she is a prime example - it has been perfectly orchestrated."
Mills purchased the most expensive Written Tycoon ever sold at public auction earlier this year, when paying Strawberry Hill $1.5 million for a filly out of Group 3 winner Karuta Queen (Not A Single Doubt) at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. At the time Mills made no secret the filly was bought by him with no owners already planned, but he confirmed on Saturday that the filly will be raced by the same ownership group as Odeum.
"She will be raced by the exact same ownership, not that makes you feel any better as she still has to prove herself a good horse, but I guess it does show what we think of the sire.
"We have been saying for a little while that that stallion is on the cusp and with all due respect, it has taken a move to Arrowfield for everybody to get on that same page."
The filly is out of Listed-placed Red Ransom (Roberto) mare Movie, making her a half-sister to 2017 Brian Crowley Stakes (Listed, 1200m) winner Goodfella (Snitzel).
The filly's third dam is Listed-placed Wheatland Lady who produced eight winners and the dam of last season's Black Caviar Lightning Stakes (Gr 1, 1000m) winner Gytrash (Lope De Vega), who will represent Inglis in The Everest (1200m) later this month.
Further back this is the same family as Group 2-winning sire Danroad (Danehill) and Group 3 scorer Strawberry Boy (Redoute's Choice).
Movie's colt by I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit) was purchased by Damon Gabbedy's Belmont Bloodstock for $400,000 at this year's Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, while she produced a filly by Zoustar (Northern Meteor) in 2019 and was covered again by the Widden Stud-based sire last November.
Written Tycoon was responsible for the winners of three stakes races on the Caulfield card, with his son Dirty Work adding a second stakes success to his CV in the Schillaci Stakes (Gr 2, 1100m), while Ole Kirk followed up his win in the Golden Rose Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) with another impressive win in the Caulfield Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m).
The stallion - who has been relocated from Woodside Park Stud to Arrowfield Stud this season - is currently the leading stallion in country, have sired six stakes winners this season alone, with Pippie the third Group 1 winner alongside Ole Kirk and Odeum.
Arrowfield Stud's John Messara was over the moon with Written Tycoon's results on the race track and said the stallion would be supported by some of Arrowfield Stud's best mares, including three-time Group 1 winner Shoals (Fastnet Rock) and her dam The Broken Shore (Hussonet).
"It's been a brilliant day for Written Tycoon and it's a real privilege for Arrowfield to have him on our 2020 roster," said Messara. "The results he's compiling this season are very well-deserved by the stallion, his syndicate, Woodside Park Stud, and all the breeders who have supported him.
"We knew Written Tycoon had served a large book of quality mares in 2016 which gave him a solid platform for the next stage of his career, but it's fair to say the speed of his progress has exceeded our expectations.
"He's now receiving a whole new level of support in the Hunter Valley, including around 40 Arrowfield mares, among them Champion three-year-old filly Shoals and her dam The Broken Shore."
Written Tycoon is standing for a fee of $77,000 (inc GST) this season.
