Well Written Dominates Karaka Millions 3YO in Commanding Fashion

Well Written delivered a performance befitting the occasion with a powerful and authoritative victory in Saturday night’s $1.5 million TAB Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m) at Ellerslie, confirming her status as one of the standout three-year-olds NZ has seen for many years.

The race was effectively decided soon after turning for home, once angled into clear running by rider Matt Cartwright, Well Written lengthened decisively, producing a sustained run that quickly put the result beyond doubt. Her acceleration was clean and controlled, allowing her to power past his rivals and open up a commanding margin in the straight. The Written Tycoon filly crossed the line in 1:35.00, drawing clear by six lengths over He Who Dares, with La Dorada finishing third, further highlighting the dominance of the performance.

Looking at the sectional data provided by Triple S Data,

Sectional Breakdown

• Overall Time: 1:35.00

• Last 600m: 35.26

• Last 400m: 23.40 (5th Chilling Out was next best at 24.88)

• Final 200m: 11.98

Well Written’s last 200m (11.98) was a full second faster than the next best and showed minimal late stride shortening and no spike in cadence to “save” the finish.
Second-placed He Who Dares stride shortened markedly late, and his final 200m (13.11) exposed the cost of that early energy use. Well Written, by contrast, produced a flattened deceleration curve — the hallmark of a dominant mile performance.

Speed Profile

• Peak Speed: 67.0 km/h (1600–1400m)

• Average Speed (race): 52.9 km/h

• Straight Speed Maintenance: Held 63+ km/h through the final 400m

This indicates a horse comfortable rolling at high speed early without compromising her ability to finish — a strong marker for mile-plus racing.

Stride Metrics (Key Indicators)

• Average Stride Length:

  • Peak: 7.8m (800–600m)

  • Maintained 7.4–7.7m through the run home

• Stride Frequency:

  • Gradually reduced from ~2.4 Hz to ~2.3 Hz late

This combination — lengthening stride with controlled cadence — is typical of horses with superior aerobic capacity. Rather than quickening through higher frequency, Well Written stride length remained symmetrical through the bend and straight, showed no late instability or shortening through the shoulder indicating strong core engagement.

Rail Efficiency

• Average Distance from Rail: Reduced progressively to ~1.0m approaching the straight
  This minimized wasted ground and reinforced the overall efficiency of the run.

Analyst’s Verdict

This was not just a class win — it was a physically superior performance. Well Written showed sustainable speed, efficient stride mechanics and strong deceleration resistance.

This is the stride pattern typically seen in horses that will improve again at 1800–2000m.