Scott Barbour (Racing Photos)
Promising three-year-old Wrote To Arataki left an impression with her comfortable victory over 1200m at Sandown on Wednesday.
From her outside barrier, jockey Mark Zahra elected to settle at the rear of the field before setting his charge alight three-wide with 500m to go.
She showed her turn of foot when gobbling up her opposition down the straight to record a 1-3/4 length victory.
It was the second win from four starts for the daughter of Wrote, with trainer Matthew Williams noting a freshen-up following her last start in March did her the world of good.
“We were just trying to give her another opportunity to run in some of these three-year-old races before she turns four, so we gave her a bit of a let-up off the back of her first three runs,” Williams said.
“She went really well in her last start but was pretty tight in the yard and didn’t look like there was much left so she had a little break, we got some weight on her and she has come back well again.”
Williams believes Wrote To Arataki could quickly add to her tally in the near future.
“She is a naturally fit little filly,” he said. “I am pretty pleased with her, without saying we have screwed her right down for this race.
“There is a little bit of improvement yet to come when she gets over seven furlongs second-up.”
Zahra was also pleased with the win and he said he was impressed the turn of foot she displayed on the Soft7 track.
“She wasn’t really handling it and I drifted back, which was always the plan,” he said.
“They strung out a bit and I saw I was giving them a bit of a start and the horse I was following wasn’t handling it at all.
“I didn’t want to go back in because it was starting to get a bit rough in there. At the 500m I thought I was going to get her out and get some clean air. She really did let rip when I got into her.
“At the 500m I thought I was giving them too much of a start and by the 400m I thought I was getting there too soon. It shows how good the turn of foot was.”
Zahra also believes Wrote To Arataki will appreciate the step-up to 1400m.
“I don’t think 1400m will be a problem for her going by the way she won today,” he said.
“She made a sustained run first-up so a bit more fitness behind her and she will be fine.”
Wrote To Arataki finished third in her only trial in New Zealand for former trainers Emma-Lee and David Browne before her private sale to the Williams stable. – NZ Racing Desk
