Patience paid off for Matthew Williams when Wrote To Arataki returned from a disrupted spring to score a first-up Stakes victory at Caulfield.
The Warrnambool trainer watched on as the mare captured her second Group 3 Geoffrey Bellmaine Stakes (1200m), reaffirming her affinity with the race.
Saturday’s triumph was her fourth appearance in the event, having previously won it in 2023 and filled the placings in two other editions.
After finishing fourth in 2024 and third at the beginning of last autumn, Wrote To Arataki returned in peak order under Dean Yendall.
Sent straight to the lead, the $12 chance controlled the race and proved too strong late, holding off Damask Rose with Bossy Benita finishing in third.
Williams credited careful management for the mare’s resurgence.
“We’ve never had a soundness issue with her,” Williams said.
“She had a couple of little viruses there in the spring and we just couldn’t get her back right, so we had to pull up stumps.
“The owners have been very patient and were happy to do that and we just set her for this race.
“It’s a good way to start her program and she’s not a good traveller, so we don’t look to go anywhere interstate with her.
“Mares are very well catered for in Victoria if you can follow that program and she loves 1400 and 1600-metre races, so it works well and they’re on our backdoor.”
The trainer said a persistent cough last spring made the decision to stop her campaign an easy one.
“We could have had a crack late in the spring and we felt for one race it wasn’t worth it, so we opted to pull up stumps and give her a bit more time in the paddock,” Williams said.
“It’s such a tight turnaround to get them back. She came back fresh and we were able to get a nice building preparation into her.
“Her jump-outs were good and the team have done a great job.”
Future targets include the Group 3 Frances Tressady Stakes (1400m) and the Group 3 Matron Stakes (1600m), with betting markets for the race continuing to reflect her strong form.
The post Wrote To Arataki claims a second Geoffrey Bellmaine Stakes first appeared on Just Horse Racing.
