Blueblood Written Tycoon Filly Wins Listed Desirable

Tara Madgwick - Saturday February 15

The ‘golden crop’ of champion sire Written Tycoon unearthed a new stakes-winner at Flemington on Saturday when progressive filly Cilcap made a winning first attempt at stakes class to take out the Listed VRC Desirable Stakes (1400m).

Cilacap is tenacious in winning the Listed Desirable Stakes - image Brett Holburt / Racing Photos

Trained by Grahame Begg, who enjoyed earlier success in the day in Sydney when his star mare Magic Time won the Group II ATC Expressway Stakes, Cilacap lived up to the expectation of punters, who sent her out as favourite.

Taking on a quality field that included Group I winning fillies Another Prophet and Captured by Love, Cilacap made a smooth transition from her last start win in a Benchmark 70 event at Caulfield on December 14.

Given a tick over trial between runs, she took a while to wind up for Craig Williams but was doing her best work on the line to score a long head win over Husk, who nearly gave her sire Calyx (GB) a stakes double as he also sired Sepals to win the Group III VRC CS Hayes Stakes on the same program.

Craig Williams was well pleased with the win.

“She’s a big girl with plenty of engine. She still has a lot to learn, but she’s got so much ability,” he said.

“The team has done a great job preparing her for today, and she’s only going to improve off this run.”

While Written Tycoon is a sire noted for his sprinter milers, the stable are looking to step Cilacap up in trip, which seems a reasonable goal given her dam Falkenberg finished third in a Group I BRC Queensland Oaks.

Advertisement

“She’s still a big, raw filly, but she’s progressing beautifully,” said stable representative Rowan Hughes.

“This was an important test for her today, and she passed with flying colours. We’ve been targeting an Australasian Oaks campaign, and she’ll go up to a mile next start to continue that progression.”

It was an emotional day for the connections of Cilcacap - image Brett Holburt / Racing Photos

With three wins from four starts and prizemoney topping $212,000, Cilacap was a $300,000 Inglis Easter purchase from Corumbene Stud for Bruce Elkington Bloodstock and runs for Echo Beach Bloodstock, a well-known partnership between Brian Singer and the late Alan Green, who only passed way last month.

Bred by Corumbene Stud, Cilacap is the second foal of Group I placed More Than Ready (USA) mare Falkenberg, a full sister to Golden Slipper winning sire Sebring and a half-sister to Group II winner Pureness.

Falkenberg has been a tricky breeder and has not had a foal since Cilacap, although was covered last year by In The Congo, so connections will have their fingers crossed!

Cilacap is the 72nd stakes-winner for Written Tycoon and is his 11th from the current crop of three year-olds that were conceived at Arrowfield Stud at a fee of $77,000.

Advertisment

Race Result - Desirable Stakes LR 1400m

Flemington Track: Soft(7) Time: 1:25.68
1
Cilacap
- 3f Written Tycoon (AUS) x Falkenberg (AUS) (More Than Ready (USA))
Tnr: G M Begg Rdr: Craig Williams 56
2
0.3
Husk
- 3f Calyx (GB) x Tikal (AUS) (Denman (AUS))
Tnr: M, W & J Hawkes Rdr: S Foley 55
3
1
Sneaky Sunrise
- 3f The Autumn Sun (AUS) x Schifty Thinker (AUS) (So You Think (NZ))
Tnr: Ben, Will & Jd Hayes Rdr: D W Stackhouse 56
4
3
Captured By Love
- 3f Written Tycoon (AUS) x Moldova (AUS) (Snitzel (AUS))
Tnr: M W Walker Rdr: B Shinn 59.5
5
3.5
Macedon Rose
- 3f Territories (IRE) x Loiter (AUS) (Helmet (AUS))
Tnr: Ben, Will & Jd Hayes Rdr: Jye McNeil 55
6
3.7
Another Prophet
- 3f Brazen Beau (AUS) x Set To Skelter (AUS) (Reset (AUS))
Tnr: C Maher Rdr: Ethan Brown 59.5
7
6.2
Too Darn Discreet
- 3f Too Darn Hot (GB) x Maybe Discreet (AUS) (Shamardal (USA))
Tnr: Dan O'Sullivan Rdr: M J Dee 58.5
8
8.7
She Nailed It
- 3f De Gaulle (AUS) x Let's Nail It (AUS) (Dalakhani (IRE))
Tnr: Tim Hughes Rdr: Carleen Hefel 55
More Reading...
Sir Stanley Goosman’s Impact on the National Yearling Sale
Karaka 2026 will mark the 100th National Yearling Sale in New Zealand, and a prominent buyer during the history of the Sale was Stanley Goosman (later Sir Stanley).  He was a key player at the Sale during the World War II era, and headed the list of winning owners in New Zealand on 10 occasions.
Up and Coming Well Named - So Who Are These Guys?
The $250,000 Group III ATC Up and Coming Stakes (1300m) at Rosehill on Saturday is a race well named with a field of eight colts and geldings set to line up and while none are stakes-winners yet, one of them will be after the weekend.
Melbourne Cup Dreaming for Kiwi Stayer
Peter and Shaun McKay are dreaming of a Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) tilt with their quality stayer Wolfgang, and he will start his journey towards the iconic feature at Wanganui on Saturday.
Spring Trial Watch – Everest Contenders on Show
The Rosehill trials on Thursday morning featured a couple of key Everest contenders with Private Harry winning easily over speedy 3YO North England, while Lady Shenandoah was under a tight grip to finish third in a later heat.
G1 Plan for Kiwi Sprinter Niance
Six-year-old mare Niance will kick off a new campaign when she lines up in the Gr.1 Moir Stakes (1000m) at The Valley on Saturday week.
Sires With Winners - Thursday August 28
Here is the full list of 33 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Via Sistina Honoured at NSW Horse of the Year
One of the greatest seasons of all time has secured Via Sistina the TAB NSW Champion Horse of the Year award. The Chris Waller-trained mare was recognised at Racing’s Night of Champions for her outstanding performance in 2024/2025 which included equalling Winx’s record of seven Group 1s in a single season.
Tara Talks Racing – Stallion Parades, Old Legends and a Weekend Tip
We’re back in podcast land as the spring unfolds with plenty to talk about following our recent run of visits to the stallion parades, so what stallions did we like?
Promising Winner and a Star on the Rise
One of the bargain priced sires on the Newgate Farm roster, Cosmic Force has never lacked for company covering 100 plus books of mares in each of his five seasons at stud so far totalling nearly 700 mares.
Sire Power Highlights Quality MM Horses in Training Catalogue
An incredible selection of the country's best proven and hottest young sires will feature at the 2025 Magic Millions Gold Coast Horses in Training Sale in October.