MORNINGTON-based trainer, Logan McGill, has a seriously quick horse on his hands.
The four-year-old son of Written Tycoon, Written Choice, made it back-to-back victories for the trainer on Friday 26 October, when he clocked the third fastest time of 54.77 seconds around the tight 955m Moonee Valley track.
It made it three wins from four times that jockey, Stephen Baster, has taken a sit on him.
Trainer Logan McGill said it was a fantastic feeling to see Written Choice overcome the wide barrier (10) and win the $120,000 sprint.
“The other day when he won, he won a similar sort of race. It was expected of him to win that day but leading into this one there wasn’t as much expected because of the wide draw,” McGill said.
“It was relief the start before but I was absolutely rapt to see him run such as sizzling time and win the race.”
Written Choice led all-the-way at his most recent victory, narrowly defeating Essence of Terror and Pravro, a further two-lengths away in third.
McGill said Written Choice is a “quirky sort of horse” who has had the tendency to miss the start, but the booking of jockey, Stephen Baster, has made a massive difference.
“He missed the kick first-up last preparation so we knew we needed to sort out his barrier tendencies,” he said.
“We approached Stephen [Baster] and he got to know him a bit. He gave him a trial at Mornington and worked him, and now they’ve meshed really well and haven’t taken a backwards step since.”
Despite being a highly energetic stallion come race day, McGill said he’s a completely different animal back at home.
“He’s a highly strung stallion who can tend to get himself wound up on race day but you couldn’t get a better mannered horse when he’s back at the stables,” he said.
Following his fourth career victory from his eight starts, McGill has pointed out that Written Choice will now be heading towards the Listed Absolut Stakes (1000m) down the straight at Flemington on Thursday 8 November.
“He deserves his chance in a race like that,” he said. “It looks like the next logical step.”
First published in the Mornington News – 6 November 2018
