In one of the final 2YO races of the 2024/2025 season, nine-time Champion Victorian Sire Written Tycoon provided the quinella in the Vale Peta Tait 2YO Maiden Plate (1210m) at Sale with Best Of The Best leading home Bradford.
In the field of 14 runners, only a handful had faced the starter on race day in the past, and with seven being by first season sires, it was always going to prove an interesting contest.
With five jumpouts under his belt, the Mick Price and Michael Kent (Jnr) trained Best Of The Best started the second favourite in the betting, just behind Ole Kirk gelding Godtfred Kirk, a half-brother to Golden Slipper winner Mossfun.
From barrier nine, jockey Ben Melham pushed forward, settling in second position behind the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott first-starter Wishful Thinker, who was out to give Widden Stud’s Anders his second winner in as many days.
As Wishful Thinker continued to roll along in front under Jett Stanley, the leader rounded the home turn with a buffer of a few lengths from Best Of The Best who starting to make up ground.
Under the urgings of Melham, the Pinecliff Racing-owned Best Of The Best got the better of Wishful Thinker as the Iskander Racing bred colt pulled away to record a length and a half victory from the fellow Written Tycoon colt Bradford who worked home well to take second, just ahead of Wishful Thinker.
Set to be crowned Champion Australian 3YO Sire for the 2024/2025, the current 2YO crop of Yulong’s Written Tycoon have also shown they’ll be a force to be reckoned with next season.
Becoming the 12th individual 2yo winner of the season for his sire, Best Of The Best was a $500,000 purchase for Dean Hawthorne Bloodstock from the Silverdale Farm draft at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.
The second winner from two runners out of the Listed placed Denman mare Cymbalism, Best Of The Best’s full-brother Metaphorically was a winner last week for the John O’Shea and Tom Charlton yard, scoring at Canterbury.
From the Group 1 family developed by Woodlands and continued by Godolphin which includes Champion Sprinter Yell (Anabaa), Champion 2YO Microphone (Exceed And Excel) as well as fellow elite level winners Anthems and Holler, Cymbalism’s current yearling is a filly by Written Tycoon before she missed to Farnan with the mare set to foal to Ozzmosis in the upcoming season.
With Written Tycoon set to turn 23 in the coming days, the Champion Sire will once again cover a quality book of mares from his Yulong base, being listed as Private Book this season.
