The Playwright stars in thrilling finish to win 2025 Widden Stakes

Tulloch Lodge is considering following the same path with The Playwright that led Lady Of Camelot to success 12 months ago, after the filly mirrored her Golden Slipper-winning stablemate by claiming the Widden Stakes.

Lady Of Camelot won the fillies’ feature last year before finishing second in the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) in Melbourne. The Playwright remains in contention for the Victorian two-year-old feature, with co-trainer Adrian Bott confirming it is 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 over 1200m. Fitted with blinkers to sharpen her for the 100m distance drop, The Playwright executed connections’ plan to leverage her race fitness against less experienced rivals.

“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 became co-trainer Gai Waterhouse’s eighth Widden Stakes winner and her second in partnership with Bott. Winning jockey Regan Bayliss praised the filly, describing her as small in stature but exceptionally brave.

“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) another short half-head away in third. The runner-up delivered an impressive performance after settling last from a wide draw and making up significant ground, while Snitzel Miss also shone on debut.