Foote gets welcome return from Nancy She Wrote

[Wandering Eyes]

Progressive mare Nancy She Wrote (NZ) (Wrote) provided co-trainer Ben Foote with the perfect welcome home from a Gold Coast holiday when she came from well back to capture the Tanalised Mile (1600m) at Ruakaka.

The five-year-old daughter of Wrote is prepared by Foote and son Ryan from their Cambridge stable and has always looked a promising middle distance performer for her breeder and owner, Gerald Bell.

After being given a brief spell following an unplaced run over 2100m at Ellerslie in April, Nancy She Wrote resumed with a handy performance in stakes company when finishing sixth behind Cork in the Listed Tauranga Classic (1400m) at Tauranga last month.

Punters were keen on her chances at longer odds on Saturday with a $1000 bet at a $10 Fixed Odds quote shortly before the race jumped, indicating a winning run could be on the cards.

That judgement was proved correct as rider Courtney Barnes brought the mare down the outskirts of the track in the home straight to collar local runner Time And Tide in the final 100m as she raced away for a two-and-a-half-length victory.

Sporting a handy winter tan, Foote acknowledged it was son Ryan who had done all the hard work to put the winning touches on the mare in his absence.

“Courtney knows exactly how to ride this one and she is a little underrated as on her day she is a smart mare,” Foote said.

“It was a lovely ride today as she got her out into the clear and she powered home.

“We think she can be competitive at the stakes level as long as things go her way.

“I probably have to give all the credit to Ryan as he has done the work on her while I’ve been away.

“We will go back and see where we go next once she has had time to recover.

“We don’t have anything specific in mind but she is suited by the big, roomier tracks.”

Nancy She Wrote has now won four of her 29 starts for Bell and over $136,000 in prizemoney.

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