Trapeze Artist on the rise with big weekend

Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything

In a week where the racing community bandied together to help each other through the escalating bushfire crisis in Victoria, it is fitting that Saturday’s G3 Standish Handicap winner Disneck (Trapeze Artist) was born in the same spirit of cooperation.

Disneck was a surprise arrival at Gooree Park

Bred by Aquis Farm’s client, Phoenix Thoroughbred (11) Ltd, Disneck’s dam Lindisfarne (USA) (City Zip {USA}) was one of around a hundred mares located at Aquis Farm’s Hunter Valley property in early 2020. When the lease ended on that farm, Gooree Park Stud stepped up to agist all of the Aquis horses until a new farm was found.

“A few years ago, Aquis had the farm up at Murrurundi and then they finished up the lease there and came to Gooree. We had a whole stud farm move in over a week. Phoenix Thoroughbreds were clients of Aquis and their mares came across as well, including Disneck’s mother Lindisfarne in foal to Trapeze Artist,” said Gooree Park Stud's Andrew Baddock.

“It was just after Mr Cojuangco passed away and we were up here (Gold Coast) dispersing horses so there were only two staff at the farm and trucks were arriving every day. A whole stud farm moved in over about four days. It was a logistical nightmare but good for our cashflow.” Aquis Farm stayed for 18 months before they shifted all their horses up to Queensland.

“The mare had bad feet and we ended up selling her for Phoenix, and James Balfe, the farrier for Coolmore, and his partner Sarah bought her.” She sold for $7000 through Inglis Digital in May 2021 to Killeenfarna, and has since had Holy Outlaw (Pariah) who is an unraced 3-year-old filly, and a So You Think (NZ) filly born this spring.

A speed machine from the beginning

Gooree Park sold future Group 1 winner Palaisipan (So You Think {NZ}) as a 2-year-old during that dispersal sale in 2020, while Lindisfarne foaled her Trapeze Artist colt on the farm later that spring.

“Foaled at Gooree. It was the first crop for Trapeze Artist, and (Disneck) was a beauty. You can see why he can run, he was built like a brick you know what with a powerful back end on him, lovely horse, big baldy face on him, a standout type of colt,” said Baddock. Gooree Park took him to the 2022 Inglis Classic Sale where he was purchased by Bjorn Baker Racing and Clarke Bloodstock (FBAA) for $200,000. Trapeze Artist stood at $88,000 including GST in his first season.

“Trapeze Artist stood for seriously good money (in his first season), and I thought (Disneck) might have made a bit more. He was a very sharp speedy looking colt, and I thought at the time that it could end up being a very good buy." Disneck has now won eight of his 34 starts with earnings over $840,000. A good buy indeed.

“The way he won yesterday, you wouldn’t discount him in anything. We reared him at home and he had the benefit of being reared at Gooree, which isn’t bad. It doesn’t surprise me that he’s a fast horse, he looked that way from day one.”

With Group 1 winners such as Desert War (Desert King {Ire}), Northern Meteor, Laser Hawk (Artie Schiller {USA}), Hallowed Crown, Your Song, and Prized Icon all coming off Gooree’s pastures, it looks like Disneck will join the long list as he heads towards the G1 Newmarket Handicap this autumn.

Double for Trapeze Artist

On Saturday, Trapeze Artist sired the G3 Standish Stakes winner Disneck in Victoria, and in Queensland, he added the winner of $1 million The Syndicate at the Gold Coast with Ciaron Maher-trained 4-year-old gelding stakes placed Spywire.

“It’s massive for the stallion. He’s had a really good spring with Panova and the likes, and he’s been building a huge amount of momentum. He’s got a horse, Sweet Kiss who was second in the Golden Gift on debut and his output has been really building,” said Widden Stud’s Matt Comerford.

In December, 2-year-old filly Where’s The Circus won the R.Listed Inglis Nursery, while 3-year-old filly Panova won both the G3 Carbine Club Stakes and Listed Reginald Allan Handicap during the spring. Piggyback won the G3 Colin Stephen Stakes in September.

Trapeze Artist’s first crop now has six stakes winners led by G1 Caulfield Guineas winner Griff, and he has nine stakes winners in total.

“Disneck has been a really promising horse for Bjorn (Baker) and obviously Spywire, who we bred and are in the ownership of, is a horse that we knew always had a huge amount of talent. It’s a bit of just reward (for Trapeze Artist) and going into the sales is perfect timing.”

With his oldest crop now 5-year-olds, Trapeze Artist has 133 individual winners from 244 to race. “He’s a well represented stallion, which is important to note, and they continue to get better with age. His juveniles perform too. He’s very versatile and he’s a son of a Champion Sire in Snitzel. Snitzel took a little while to get going and reach into the stars, and away he went. Comparably, his statistics aren’t too far behind Snitzel at a similar time and age.”

Snitzel’s reputation as a juvenile sire, thanks to his three Golden Slipper winners, is likely a reason that many of his sons aren’t given much time at stud, commercially-speaking, to show their full potential. Snitzel’s top stakes producing sons are Shamus Award with 30 stakes winners, Russian Revolution with 14 and Trapeze Artist with nine. All three weren’t outright juveniles themselves, and all three are leaving horses who train on as older horses. It will be interesting to see what happens when Snitzel’s more precocious sons, like G1 Golden Slipper winner Shinzo, have progeny at the races. Case in point, Sword Of State who was a Group 1 winning juvenile in New Zealand and who has begun well with his first crop this season.

“Trapeze Artist throws them with a bit of length and plenty of size and substance which is important. They aren’t definitively 2-year-old types, he gets them with a bit of scope at times, and he’s just throwing good tough sound racehorses,” said Comerford.

“That’s what he was himself. He wasn’t whipped off by Bert (Vieira) to stud after winning the Golden Rose. He came back and kept doing it as a 4-year-old and probably could have kept going but the lucrative stud deal was there.”

Trapeze Artist won the G3 Black Opal at two and placed in the G1 Sires’ Produce Stakes. At three, he won the G1 Golden Rose, G1 TJ Smith Stakes and G1 All Aged Stakes. Back at four, he won the G1 Canterbury Stakes over 1300 metres.

“Without a doubt, we would all agree that we judge these horses very quickly on the back of their first crop, and it’s probably unfair to do so commercially. Time and time again, you see horses that are able to get the longevity are well rewarded going forward.”

Trapeze Artist is represented by 15 yearlings at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

“Spywire is a great example (of longevity). He's a horse that ran in the 2-year-old Wyong race, the 3&4-year-old Wyong race, and has come up here and collected a $1 million purse last night (at four).” Spywire was a $520,000 yearling at the 2023 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, sold by Widden Stud to Ciaron Maher and Group 1 Bloodstock (FBAA). His dam is Listed winner Secret Trail (Denman).

A winner on debut at two, Spywire ran second in the R.Listed Magic Millions Wyong 2YO Classic, won the Gold Nugget in Victoria, then was third behind Storm Boy in the R.Listed Magic Millions 2YO Classic. He was a winner at three, and at four, he’s had four starts for two wins and was third in the Magic Millions Wyong 3&4-year-old race. His five wins have netted over $1.3 million.

“There’s so many options spread across the country for those types of horses (with longevity). One hundred percent, it’s got to be at every buyer’s front of mind that there is so much prizemoney for those older horses.”

Gooree Park’s yearling draft

Gooree Park, whose focus in recent years has been more commercially driven, have eight yearling fillies in Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. They have two by Artotius, three by State Of Rest, and the others are by In The Congo, Russian Revolution, and Wild Ruler.

Lot 829, a filly by State Of Rest out of Snitzel mare Snitzel’s Glow is a standout for Baddock. “It’s the family of Northern Meteor, Smart Missile and most recently Lonhro’s Queen who won the stakes race last Sat in the Gooree colours. It’s been a great family for us and keeps coming back,” Baddock said. Lonhro’s Queen won the Listed Nudgee Stakes for trainers Chris and Corey Munce.

“She’s a very sharp looking filly, a lot of the good judges have said she’s as sharp a State Of Rest as they’ve seen. Very popular.

“Lonhro’s Queen is in the Magic Millions fillies and mares race next week. Winning that race the other day was a wild card into it, so that was a nice surprise. Chris (Munce) said ‘what do you think?’ I said 'it’s only a fortnight, why wouldn’t you?' She can go to the paddock after that. They spend most of their life in the paddock.”

Artorius filly, Lot 145 is out winning mare Caprice (Your Song). “Her dam is a half-sister to former Hong Kong Horse Of The Year Rapper Dragon. We bred him for Henry Cojuangco, the late boss’s brother, and he came through the Gooree system. She’s a sharp looking filly too.”

“The In The Congo filly is marked like her father and looks like a real 2-year-old, and we’ve also got some nice horses in book 2 for later next week.” Lot 501 is from the Joie Denise family, with her dam Ma Joie (Bel Danoro) being a half-sister to Group 1 winner Joie De Grise (Kenmare {Fr}).

Widden’s yearlings include half to Spywire

Widden Stud will present Spywire’s half-brother by Anamoe as Lot 781 at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

“We have a very nice Anamoe colt in our draft who is Spywire’s half-brother,” said Comeford. There are two other colts by Anamoe in Widden Stud’s draft which numbers 65 yearlings. More highlights in the draft are 11 yearlings by Widden Stud’s resident Champion Sire Zoustar.

A further 10 yearlings in the draft are by Trapeze Artist. “We are really pleased with Trapeze Artist and we have a good line up of yearlings to present by him. There’s a beautiful line of three fillies in our draft and there’s plenty around the complex that are a good indication and a good showcase of the stallion.”