Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Trapeze Artist, a son of the Champion Sire Snitzel, was crowned the Champion 3-Year-Old Colt in Australia for the 2017/18 season after a sensational career that netted seven victories and over $5 million in earnings.
Bert Vieira of the Vieira Group bred the striking bay or brown colt, the third foal from the Domesday mare Treppes. Trapeze Artist hails from the family of the G1 Stradbroke H. victor Crawl (Dr Grace {NZ}).
Trapeze Artist | Standing at Widden Stud
The juvenile was sent into training with the Rosehill-based Gerald Ryan. He showed a high level of ability winning the G3 Black Opal S. at Canberra, where he defeated the outstanding Trekking (Street Cry {Ire}); he would then follow up that performance with a placing in the G1 Sires’ Produce S.
Trapeze Artist would return in the spring to claim the sire-maker G1 Golden Rose like his Widden Stud barn mate, the champion sire Zoustar. However, as an autumn 3-year-old, the colt came into his own; he started his preparation by beating the older gallopers in the G2 Expressway S. over 1200 metres. Trapeze Artist then showed versatility with a third in the G1 Randwick Guineas.
Reverting to the sprinting trips, Trapeze Artist showed his dominance by winning the G1 TJ Smith S. beating the dual The Everest hero Redzel (Snitzel) and the multiple Group 1-winning victress In Her Time (Time Thief). The Ryan trainee ended his autumn preparation by taking out the G1 All Aged S. over 1400 metres in track record time.
Trapeze Artist would claim the G1 Canterbury S. over 1300 metres, once again in track record time, before retiring to the hallowed grounds of Widden Stud in Widden, New South Wales.
Big things ahead
With his oldest runners aged just two years old, there has been plenty of indication Trapeze Artist is set for a big future as a stallion.
Comerford feels we are on the verge of seeing the best of the Trapeze Artist progeny in the upcoming season with plenty of unraced stock still in the arsenal.
Matt Comerford | Image courtesy of Inglis
“In recent days, we have seen a couple of new winners, Lady Of Poise and another metropolitan winner Flying Concello,” Comerford told TTR AusNZ.
“Trapeze Artist has a lot of serious prospects in the future, and we’ve seen several nice trial horses. However, we are delighted with where he’s placed at present.”
Trapeze Artist currently occupies the fifth position on the first-season sires' table for the 2022/23 Season, from a first crop that contained 126 foals, 36 of which have hit the track this season, resulting in nine individual winners of 10 races.
Facile | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
Trapeze Artist has sired three stakes performed gallopers, including the exciting Facile, who was placed in the G2 Reisling S. and the G2 Sweet Embrace S. and running second in the R. Listed Inglis Nursery. He’s also had Flying Trapeze and Artistica, both placed in Listed events.
While Introducing finished fourth in the G3 Pago Pago S. and Tumbling fourth in the G3 Kindergarten S, and Side Show fourth in G2 Skyline S. all look serious 3-year-old prospects to watch, as does Spin Doctor, who has yet to contest a stakes race but showed plenty of ability on debut before placing in the QTIS Jewel.
“We like to look at what Trapeze Artist did as a 3-year-old winning a Golden Rose and then winning the TJ Smith S., which bodes well for the future. He’s incredibly exciting, and I have no doubt we will see his progeny at their best at three and four going forward, and what we’ve seen so far is just a bonus.”
“He’s (Trapeze Artist) incredibly exciting, and I have no doubt we will see his progeny at their best at three and four going forward, and what we’ve seen so far is just a bonus.” - Matt Comerford
Major representation
The progeny of Trapeze Artist continues to be well received in the market, with representation at all the major sales and have been purchased by many of Australia’s leading trainers and stables.
Widden Stud consigned a colt from the Listed-winning Denman mare Secret Trail at the 2023 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, where Ciaron Maher Bloodstock and Group 1 Bloodstock (FBAA) went to $520,000 to secure. While his progeny overall have averaged $134,511 this sale season.
“The progeny of Trapeze Artist look like 3-year-olds. The physical attributes ‘Trapeze’ is putting into them is they’re big, strong forward types of horses in the sense they’ve got a big hindquarter, a lot of strength, a big shoulder, and typically look like they’re going to continue to develop and grow,” Comfertold TTR AusNZ.
The Trapeze Artist x Secret Trail colt that sold for $520,000 at the 2023 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
“So again, what we’ve seen is positive, but from what we’re hearing from the trainers, they’ve got a lot more scope and depth than just juveniles, which makes us excited to see them going forward.
“Encouragingly, Trapeze Artist has progeny in over the country and with leading trainers. I don’t think there’s a leading trainer that doesn’t have at least one of his progeny, if not a couple, by the stallion,” Comerford said.
“It’s a credit to Trapeze Artist and the profile of the horse he is siring that they are represented in the leading trainer’s stable, and I mean, he’s a multiple Group 1-winning son of a Champion Sire; what stable wouldn’t want to have progeny by him.”
“It’s a credit to Trapeze Artist and the profile of the horse he is siring that they are represented in the leading trainer’s stable...” - Matt Comerford
Mares assembled
Comerford outlined some of the mares expected to head to Trapeze Artist this spring and some progeny he is keen to follow.
“Interestingly, Trapeze Artist has had more stakes performers than Snitzel did at this stage, which is a big thing given what Snitzel has achieved. Also, what we’ve seen over the last month, from his nine winners, his metropolitan and stakes performers to his trial horses,” Comerford said.
Comerford pointed out the unraced colt The Great, purchased for $230,000 by Trilogy Racing and CB Bloodstock from the draft of Edinburgh Park at the 2022 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
“He had another impressive trial winner in Melbourne on Wednesday, the Ben Brisbourne-trained The Great.”
The Great as a yearling | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
“But there’s a lot of prospects going forward. Tumbling, Side Show and Introducing have all run fourth in Group events. Then you have Facile, Artistica and Flying Trapeze, they all look like progressive prospects as we advance, and I think he might be flying under the radar for breeders fractionally, but it won’t be long until his 3-year-olds hit the track and you really see them come to the fore again,” Comerford told TTR AusNZ.
“Mr (Bert) Vieira has been a huge supporter of Trapeze Artist, and we’re very thankful for that. He bred Facile, and her dam, the stakes-winning I Like It Easy, will return. Bert has been investing in good quality mares to send to Trapeze Artist. We (Widden Stud) are still in the process of doing our matings, but we will certainly get behind him and look to send stakes-winning or performed mares.”
Comerford shared that the dual-Listed victress Atmospherical (Northern Meteor) and the multiple Group 2-winning Miss Rose De Lago (Encosta De Lago) are set to visit the son of Snitzel.
“Outside mares that have been booked include Stolen Kisses. She’s the dam of the Group 3-winning Kiss Sum. Some excellent strong outside breeders are happy to support him, and we’re thrilled to see their mares on his book,” Comerford said.
“Some excellent strong outside breeders are happy to support him (Trapeze Artist), and we’re thrilled to see their mares on his book.” - Matt Comerford
“The Listed-winning Jami Lady, another really fast style of horse, is set to visit him. Spin Doctor’s dam Chit Chat is set to come back.
“Bert has even retired a couple of really lovely stakes horses off the track. Sky Command is a Group 3-winning daughter of Deep Field and a maiden mare among them. A Lot More Love, a daughter of Sebring, will visit Trapeze Artist; she was a Listed winner.
“Trapeze Artist is certainly not lacking for depth in his book so far.”
Trapeze Artist will stand the 2023 breeding season for $55,000 (inc GST).
