Tulloch Lodge considering Blue Diamond path for The Playwright

Tulloch Lodge is contemplating following the same path with The Playwright that Lady Of Camelot took 12 months ago after the filly claimed victory in the Widden Stakes, mirroring her stablemate’s success.

Lady Of Camelot won the fillies’ feature last year before finishing second in the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) in Melbourne, and now The Playwright is in the mix for the prestigious Victorian two-year-old race, with co-trainer Adrian Bott confirming it’s a key option.

“We kept her in the Blue Diamond acceptances. Lady Of Camelot won this race last year and went down for the Diamond,” Bott said. “She is seasoned to do it. She has got the right attitude to do it. Or we’ll just stick to a few fillies races here (in Sydney).”

The Playwright entered the race following a two-start Queensland campaign, where she placed in the B J McLachlan Stakes and finished fourth in the Magic Millions Classic, both at 1200m.

Equipped with blinkers on Saturday to maintain her sharpness for the 100m distance drop, The Playwright executed a plan by her connections to leverage her race fitness against less experienced competitors.

“That was the design of race we wanted to see, to make it a nice test for them and have them chasing throughout, and she was able to be too tough,” Bott said. “That’s her best asset, she is so tough. She has got some black-type now for her residual, so if this happens to be the last run of the campaign, she has done a great job. But with the constitution she’s got, I do feel we can keep going.”

The Playwright’s victory in the Widden Stakes marked co-trainer Gai Waterhouse’s eighth win in the race and her second in partnership with Bott.

Winning jockey Regan Bayliss was full of praise for the filly, describing her as small in stature but with an incredible amount of heart and determination.

“She’s just one out of the box, this filly, and she feels small everywhere until you jump out of the barriers on her. She’s got so much heart and force,” Bayliss said.

In a thrilling three-way finish, The Playwright ($3.80) held on by a short neck over Tempted ($3.30 fav), with Snitzel Miss ($3.60) finishing another short half-head behind in third.

The runner-up, Tempted, put in a tremendous effort after settling a clear last from her wide draw and making up significant ground to narrowly miss, while Snitzel Miss also impressed on debut.

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