Patience was a virtue for Hugh Bowman on the Written Tycoon gelding Hightail who spent the first half of Friday’s Listed Gosford Guineas (1200m) dawdling near the rear of the field before being given a wake-up at the 300 metres to chase down his stalemate Battleground.
Coming off a luckless second to the top-class Diamond Thunder in the 3&4yo Magic Millions at Wyong, the $520,000 yearling purchase defeated his $900,000 stablemate Battleground (Snitzel) by a short-neck with Splintex (Snitzel) three-quarter of a length back in third.
Both the winner and second are from the in-form stable of Peter and Paul Snowden.
"The raced panned out beautifully," Peter Snowden said.
"They went very quick. He got a nice drag up behind them and pulled out at the right time and just managed to get the stablemate.
"He (Battleground) did a great job too. Hopefully he's got some sort of hope in the maiden on the Gold Coast in a couple of weeks."
Third behind Exhilarates and Dubious in the Magic Millions 2yo Classic in January, Hightail will head back to the Gold Coast on January 11 for the $2 million Magic Millions 3yo Guineas.
Bowman said the son of Written Tycoon will be at his top for that contest.
“We needed a bit of luck and the pace really suited him but I think he can be effective of a slow tempo as well,” Bowman said.
“I was able to get the runs when needed and I had the horse to capitalise on it.”
Consigned by Woodside Park Stud to the 2018 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, Hightail was knocked down to China Horse Club/Newgate/Winstar for $520,000 and he has already wiped his purchase price off with a record of 3 wins, 3 seconds and 2 thirds from 11 starts with earnings of $586,140.
A brother to the VOBIS Gold Strike winner Je Suis Tycoon, Hightail is the fifth foal of the unraced Falvelon mare La Pais who is a half-sister to the high-class Ringa Ringa Rosie (Bradbury's Luck) the winner of the Listed BRC Hampden Stakes and runner-up in the Group 1 BRC TJ Smith Classic.
A granddaughter of the top-class mare Las Caissiere (Luskin Star), La Paris has an unnamed 2yo coly by Econsul, one of just three foals by the former Caulfield Guineas winner in 2016.
La Paris has a yearling filly by Written Tycoon's son Rich Enuff that is in the Woodside Stud draft at the 2020 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale.
Hightail becomes the 31st stakes-winner for Woodside Park Stud’s Written Tycoon who has 35 catalogued for the Gold Coast, 15 in the Inglis Classic and 25 in the Inglis Premier.
