The margin may have been smaller than supporters had hoped for but Written By kept his unbeaten record intact with a fighting win in Saturday's $175,000 Group III Pago Pago Stakes (1200m) and top him off for next week's big dance, the $3,500,000 Golden Slipper over the same track and distance.
Jordan Childs sent the Blue Diamond Stakes hero straight to the front but he found a willing challenger in Jadeskye Racing's progressive Snitzel colt Sandbar who refused to be shaken off before going down by a short-neck with the I Am Invincible colt Spin three and a quarter length back in third. (photo Steve Hart ).
It advances the record of the son of Written Tycoon to 4 wins from as many starts with earnings of $1,239,000.
Written By ran half a second faster than the Golden Slipper favourite Sunlight did in the Magic Night Stakes forty minutes earlier.
"It's always good to come home and win a race, winning trainer Graeme Begg said.
"He's all quality this little bloke, he never knows how to sit down.
"He's got a little bit of improvement in him. He had a pretty soft win relative to how we usually train him. He's a tough little guy, he never leaves an oat.
"Sometimes we even have to work him on raceday so there is certainly a bit left to come next week.
"The second horse gave him a race and they have run good time. We said to Jordy give him the easiest time possible."
Written By runs in the colours of his breeder, Graeme Begg's father Neville, who trained the 1980 Golden Slipper winner Dark Eclipse.
A son of Written Tycoon, who sired the 2016 Golden Slipper winner Capitalist, Written By is out of the winning Tobougg mare Yau Chin, who was purchased by Neville Begg for just $3,000 at the 2007 Scone Yearling Sale.
Written By adds the first black-type in five generations, dating back to the Kaoru Star mare No Finer a sister to the top-class racehorses Marceau, Zasu and Joy Love and the dam of four stakes winners including the Group 1 Australian Guineas winner and top-class sire Pins and the Group II Shannon Stakes winner Nips.
Yau Chin has a yearling brother to Written By and a colt foal by Fiorente (IRE).
She was bred back to Stratum Star last spring.
