Matamata horseman Benji King had a day to remember at Ellerslie on Boxing Day.

He started the day off well when his promising mare Mid Ocean scored in the Horizon By SkyCity 1400 in the colours of her breeder and co-owner Henrietta, Dowager Duchess of Bedford, and two races later Well Written, who he purchased and sold as a younger horse, continued her unbeaten streak when taking out the Gr.2 Jimmy Schick Shaw’s Auckland Guineas (1400m) for trainer Stephen Marsh.

“I was really thrilled,” King said. “It was a fantastic day for the entire team, for us especially and for my Dad (Nick King) and the farm (Brighthill Farm), both of those horses came off his farm. It was exciting.

“Both of my brothers (Harry and Charlie) and my sister Soph were all back for Christmas, so it all worked out really well.”

Mid Ocean had shown ability as a three-year-old last term when winning one and placing in two of her five starts, and competed in the Gr.1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m).

“Heading into the Oaks we were always a little bit on the back foot,” King said. “It was pretty amazing to even get her there, it shows the ability that she has and the willingness to be a racehorse, that’s her biggest asset.”

The daughter of Ocean Park was having her first run of the season at Ellerslie last Friday, and King admitted to being a relieved man when she was first past the post.

“It was enjoyable and a slight relief because we have such a high opinion of her,” he said.

“It was nice to see her match up to those decent horses on a big day like that. It gives us a bit of confidence now and we can look towards some nicer features.”

King is now eyeing a return to Ellerslie with his mare next month.

“At this stage, I am looking at Karaka Millions night in a fillies and mares 1400m (Jo Giles Stakes),” he said.

An hour later, while still coming down from the high of training a winner on one of Ellerslie’s biggest days, King cheered home his former filly Well Written to win the Auckland Guineas.

King purchased the daughter of Written Tycoon as a weanling out of Inglis’ Great Southern Sale for $35,000 on the advice of his brother Harry, who works for Yulong in Australia as their Sales and Nominations Manager.

King wasn’t able to make it to the sale, so Harry sent through a short list and King said he was immediately taken by Well Written when seeing her photos and videos.

“My brother Harry is based in Melbourne, so he floats a lot of horse’s profiles through,” King said. “We are always in the market to buy and sell. We didn’t make it to the foal sale, but Harry sent through a couple of pictures and videos of a handful (of weanlings), and she was one of them.

“We didn’t think we would be anywhere near a chance on a Written Tycoon filly out of a nice mare, but she just had a couple of little imperfections and that is where we like to strike. She was a little bit lighter and a little bit small, but we felt like we could improve her and we bought her at a nice price.”

While King bought Well Written as a racing prospect, life threw a few curve balls his way and he elected to offer her through Brighthill Farm’s 2024 New Zealand Bloodstock Online Yearling Sale draft where she was purchased by her trainer Stephen Marsh and his racing manager Dylan Johnson for $80,000.

“We were buying to race a nice filly like her, but I had a bit of an accident, and we decided to sell,” he said. “But everyone has got a good bite of the bone.”

Well Written has been a sensation since winning on debut at Ellerslie in September, going on to win the Gr.2 Soliloquy Stakes (1400m) and Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) before her Boxing Day triumph.

While no longer in his care, King said he still feels very much a part of her journey.

“We feel like we still played a big part because she was quite underdone when we got her,” he said. “She spent a lot of time at the stud and we made sure that she was well looked after. We feel like we are a big part of her career and where she has got to.

“It is so nice to see a graduate go on and perform on the track.”

In a full-circle moment, the King family still has a connection with the filly after Yulong Investments purchased into her prior to her NZ 1000 Guineas triumph, and Harry King, who works for the industry giant, was trackside to share in the celebrations on Boxing Day.

“He (Harry) has got a big love for Written Tycoon, and he is very proud of Yulong and the job that he does there,” Benji King said. “He thought she was going to be a good buy and that has proven to be the case.”

While the Kings have enjoyed the ride with Well Written, it is set to continue over the coming months, with the filly a short-priced favourite for both the TAB Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m) and $4 million NZB Kiwi (1500m), where she will represented Entain New Zealand’s TAB slot.

King purchased Well Written under his Foxhill Thoroughbreds banner, a business he established with his partner Lena Jones shortly after the pandemic.

It is primarily a pre-training and breaking-in business, while King has several racehorses in his care, and they also operate their own spelling property.

King said Jones plays a key role in the business on top of being the primary carer for their children Annabelle and Gracie.

“We have been on this property for a couple of years now. We do breaking, pre-training and we buy and sell horses. We have even bred a couple of mares. We are testing the waters and giving our clients plenty of options,” King said.

“We have 10-acres and Lena runs that and all of the spellers, and that gives me a big break so I can focus on the training side of things. She is the one behind the scenes. She does all of the paperwork and accounts, which is a big part of the business.”

The business has also diversified into breeze-up sales this year, with Foxhill Thoroughbreds offering their first draft at last month’s New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run Sale.

King sold both of his two-year-olds and he was pleased with his debut effort.

“We did our first ready-to-run draft this year and we had a bit of success,” he said. “Both horses breezed up nicely and sold really well.”

Growing up on Brighthill Farm, King has always been involved in the breeding side of the industry, and that is where he spent most of his career until his interest was piqued in the racing side of the industry when he was working in Australia.

“I have grown up on the stud side, that is where I have learned my trade,” he said. “That was enjoyable and I even bred a stakes winner early and I was right into the breeding. We were selling nice stock.

“I went to Australia and I really found the passion that Australians had for racing was quite infectious. Once I got a taste for it, it was something that I really wanted to have a go at.”

King dipped his toe in the racing water when returning to New Zealand where he began to work in the mornings at Te Akau for trainer Jamie Richards before he decided to head offshore to further his education.

“I had to work hard to do it, I wasn’t a great rider,” he said. “I worked in the mornings at the stables to learn to ride for Jamie Richards. I went to Mark Todd’s in England to learn to ride and train. I felt if I could understand the riding it would help me a long way.

“I tried to work as hard as I could at that. When I came back to New Zealand and was working for Dad, that was when I got the taste for the training side of the industry and I felt that if I worked for Jamie Richards at Te Akau, which I did for a few years in the mornings, I would learn a lot, which I did. I then ventured off and had a crack.”

King is proud that he has taken the risk and pursued his passion for training, and he is now reaping the rewards with his fledgling business.

“It has grown quite a bit and I have got some awesome people around me, it is a real team effort,” he said. “We are just trying to provide a good service for clients, whether that is a pinhook, a ready-to-run, a racehorse, or whatever it may be.”

King, who is now in his fourth season of training, is excited about the prospects of his racing team, including Mid Ocean, and he highlighted three-year-old filly Burnerphone as one to watch.

“I really like a horse we have got called Burnerphone,” he said. “She has had two starts and she has won a couple of trials. She is just needing some time to strengthen, but she is the one we are looking forward to the most.”