Stephen Hunt runs the numbers on 1000 Guineas Day
Stephen Hunt • November 11th, 2025 3:09 PM • 3 min read
FIVE HIGHEST RATED WINNERS FROM THE LAST 7 DAYS
RICCARTON PARK – CANTERBURY JC @ RICCARTON
SPEED RATINGS
How the track played…
There were two leaders that won, with winners coming as far back as 8.3L (Pequot) off the leader at the 600m mark.
Race winners were in lanes 4,4,4,6,3,4,3,2,6,3,2.
The track played fairly. With warm weather and dry conditions, the track was upgraded to a Good 3 after Race 6, this made it tougher for the back markers to circle the field and be contenders.
RACE DAY SUMMARY:
Moment Of The Day ❤️ | Well Written |
Peach Of A Ride 🍑 | Logan Bates on Just Charlie (R8) |
Horses To Follow 🔎 | Platinum Attack (R6), Archaic Smile (R7), Just Charlie (R8), Well Written (R10) |
Punters Get Paid 💵 | Wyworry (R4), Platinum Pantheon (R5), Platinum Attack (R6), Well Written (R10) |
Punters Left It In Thad's Bag 💰 | Rosso (R2), Churchillian (R7), Court Of Appeal (R8), On The Town (R11) |
Tactics Questioned ❓ | The loading process (R2) |
Platinum Attack produced a terrific return in the Listed Pegasus Stakes over 1000m with a dominant win, rating 96.5. That figure represents a solid lift on his 93 rating when winning a BM75 at Trentham last December, where he carried 59kg.
He’s clearly a horse on an upward trajectory, and based on this first-up performance, his ceiling remains unknown. With his profile trending the right way, another new peak would come as no surprise, particularly if the pace is fast, which brings his closing strength and proven talent up to 1200m in play.
Captured By Love dominated the Gr.3 Breeders, winning by two lengths. It was a return to her brilliant best, matching the 97 she posted when winning the Gr.1 1000 Guineas last year. What made Saturday’s effort stand out was the way she did it. Never closer than three-wide in running, but importantly always in a comfortable rhythm, as Bruno Queiroz highlighted post-race. For The Radiant One (93.3), it was a new career high, improving on her consistent 90-92 level form on dry ground, including her Listed Timaru Stakes win over the same track and distance last year.
Just Charlie provided jockey Logan Bates with one of the biggest wins of his young career, sustaining a strong on-pace gallop to win the Metropolitan Trophy by 0.8 lengths over Titicaca, with Noble Knight another three lengths back in third. Bates led and well rated the six-year-old throughout, but a key moment was just before the 600m mark when he increased the tempo and showed much better acceleration than the others who were immediately under pressure trying to match him. By the time he straightened up with 400m to go, Just Charlie had a clear lead and had broken up the pack behind him. It was only Titicaca who emerged to chase and make ground, with the others either losing or holding ground from the 200m mark. It was a brilliant tactical move at the perfect time.
Well Written wins the NZ 1000 Guineas
Well Written added further weight to her reputation as a future star and maintaining her perfect record in winning the Gr.1 1000 Guineas. She’s now three from three, and well and truly silenced anyone who was making excuses from the beaten brigade in the Soliloquy. One last start was a hot pace in the Soliloquy, and she ran very fast overall time. On the weekend they went slow early, and she showed an electric sectional speed. She rated 99.5, which is slightly lower than her last start of 100.5. This is not uncommon in a slow-paced race that is more of a sprint home rather than a test over the entire distance. For a horse to run 100.5 and 99.5 within her first three starts is incredibly rare. She has untapped upside potential. In terms of 3YO Fillies, only Tempted (103.6 and 104) and My Gladiola (101 and 101 - 2nd in the G1 Coolmore Stud Stakes) are rated higher in Australasia. My Gladiola has had seven race starts and is more exposed. It would be highly unusual for a horse with the profile of Well Written to have shown her full potential within three starts, so assuming she stays sound and issue free, it's very likely she has further peaks to come.
