Rowe On Monday – Written history for King, Arrowfield’s double play and a magic Malaysian moment for Manton

Well Written could have been a different story

If Benji King was further down the line in his fledgling training career, the Kiwi horseman may well have had Well Written flying the flag for his small Matamata stable.

But Benji, the son of Brighthill Farm principal Nick and brother to Yulong’s Harry, made the wise financial decision to sell Well Written as a yearling.

He had pinhooked her with Harry, buying her from Lemrac Lodge for $32,500 out of the 2023 Inglis Great Southern Weanling Sale in Melbourne.

She didn’t make the cut at the New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka Yearling Sale, so the siblings elected to put her through the online version where she was snapped up by trainer Stephen Marsh and Dylan Johnson for $80,000.

“The initial plan was to keep her and race her, but a young trainer starting out, he needed a bit of cash,” Nick King told this column.

“She was a slightly later foal, but she was all super athletic. They weren’t overly keen to put her in the main sale, so we kept her through and put her on that online sale.

“And then Benji sold her to Stephen Marsh and he’s done a fantastic job with her. We raised her here at the farm and prepped her up and sold her, so we’re claiming her. It’s always nice when good horses come off your farm.

“She arrived out of the winter from the foal sale and the good New Zealand grass hopefully played its part and helped her progress.”

Well Written has won her three starts for Marsh, with her maiden spring campaign culminating in an emphatic victory in the Group 1 Thousand Guineas at Riccarton in November.

She is now favourite for next year’s NZB Kiwi at Ellerslie in March.

“Marshy was very patient with her because he’d been telling anybody who would listen to him (how good she is),” King said. 

“He’s been talking this horse up since the day you put a saddle on her, but he’s super patient and done a wonderful job with her.

“Look, she’s certainly answered every question she’s been asked so far. She looks like she could be special, and we’re going to find out in the next six months, aren’t we?”

King has made a solid start to his training career, preparing four winners from just 40 runners, with his latest winner coming at Rotorua last Friday when Predominance won a 1560m maiden.

Sydney stable rent hike decision imminent

Sydney trainers are likely to know how much extra they will have to pay in stable rent after months of lobbying to delay or limit the financial impost at Randwick, Rosehill and Warwick Farm.

In August, the Australian Turf Club had proposed a 10 per cent increase in stable rents, which would take the daily per box charge from $11.50 to $12.65, but the NSW Trainers’ Association pushed back against the increase.

It was meant to come into effect with seven days’ notice, but that did not eventuate. The ATC lost $7.9 million on its training and racetrack facilities in 2024.

Interim ATC chief executive Steve McMahon says a decision on stable rents – and increased barrier trial fees – is imminent.

“Actually, just having discussions in the coming days or weeks just to try to resolve that. It won’t be as onerous as before, but we obviously need to do something (to improve our financial position),” McMahon told the Straight Talk podcast.

“So, stay tuned on that one. It’s all part of our response in our financial situation at the moment. We just want to bundle it all together.” 

Arrowfield’s two for the price of one at Tatts

Arrowfield principal John Messara has revealed his new prized mare Chere Darmoiselle, a half-sister to top dual-hemisphere sire Too Darn Hot who was bought at Tattersalls in the UK last week, is carrying a filly by Zarak.

“She’s beautifully bred and it’s hard to buy into those families and when one becomes available … it’s hard to let it pass,” Messara said. 

“So, we’re hoping we can breed something really nice out of her and she’s carrying a filly, which means you get two fillies for the price of one in that family.”

Chere Darmoiselle, who was sold by Too Darn Hot’s co-owner Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s Watership Down Stud, will cost about A$3 million by the time she arrives at Arrowfield Stud next year.

But she will foal the filly by Zarak, a son of Dubawi just as Too Darn Hot is, before being imported to Australia.

Messara is yet to decide whether to race the filly in Europe or also bring her to Australia to be trained.

“(The filly is to) northern hemisphere time, so we’ll grow her out there and then see what we do,” he said. 

‘Group 1’ for racecaller Manton

Anthony Manton has become a racing jack-of-all-trades: talented racecaller and broadcaster, decent tipster and syndicator.

After the weekend, the Sydneysider can also add “Group 1 bloodstock agent” to his racing CV after one of his purchases, Kim Emperor, won Sunday’s RM400,000 (A$147,000) Piala Emas Sultan Selangor (2000m) at the Kuala Lumpur racecourse in Malaysia.

For those following Australia’s Pattern debacle, the Malaysian feature is classified as a Listed race for international cataloguing and pedigree purposes.

Regardless, it’s a big achievement for Manton, who paid $35,000 for the then four-year-old called It’sreel as a five-start maiden at the Inglis Digital (Late) November Sale last year.

The son of Highland Reel, who was trained by Ben, Will and JD Hayes before being sold, was exported to Malaysia and into the care of prominent Selangor trainer Richard Lines.

Kim Emperor has won four races in Malaysia since May and relished the step up to 2000m for the first time in his career.

Another Inglis Digital graduate Two Faults, who was trained by Mitch Freedman at Ballarat, finished runner-up. He has been renamed Banker’s Two Six while NZB Ready to Run graduate Lucky Magic finished third after drawing wide in the Group 1.

2025 Piala Emas Sultan Selangor (MAS G1)
Selangor Turf Club | Turf | 2000m

🥇 Kim Emperor
🥈 Banker's Two Six
🥉 Lucky Magic#HorseRacing #Malaysia 🇲🇾 pic.twitter.com/h45H9MHaSM

— Ksatria (@ksatriadg) December 7, 2025