February 3, 2025The Playwright writes her place in Newhaven history
Newhaven Park bred, raised and sold The Playwright led from start-to-finish in a major Sydney juvenile feature when landing the coveted Group 3 Widden Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill in the silks of Tricolours Racing & Syndications.
Trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, and ridden by Regan Bayliss, the free-running filly displayed an admirable dose of tenacity to post her maiden Pattern Race success and her second career win from just four starts to date. She also boasts a minor placing in the Group 3 BJ McLachlan Stakes (1200m) on her CV at just her second race start.
Sold by Newhaven Park at the 2024 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale for $60,000, The Playwright took her earnings to $734,500 and possibly earned herself a shot at either the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes or Golden Slipper Stakes, or even both, in the coming weeks.
Speaking straight after the win, co-trainer Adrian Bott remarked: “She’s got some black-type now for her residual value, so if this happens to be the last run of her campaign, she’s done a great job. But the way she is, the constitution that she’s got, I don’t know. I do feel she could keep going.”
Adrian added: “We won this race last year with [subsequent Golden Slipper winner] Lady of Camelot and she pushed onto the Blue Diamond [finishing second]. She’s amongst the acceptances. Whether we look to do that or whether there’s something still in Sydney for her. But everything will be determined by how she pulls up.”
Winning rider Regan Bayliss was also quoted as saying: “She’s just one out of the box, this filly … she feels small everywhere until you jump out of the barriers on her. She’s got so much heart…”
It’s little more than 12 months since The Playwright was sold in Book 2 of last year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale yet she’s already a Group winning 2-year-old that’s returned over 12-times her purchase price in prizemoney and bonuses — and is now worth considerably more as a future breeding proposition!
The bonny filly is a wonderful advertisement for syndicators Tricolours, the prolific Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott stable, and our historic nursery which has long since earned such a proud reputation for breeding juveniles with innate speed and courage.