Trapeze Artist's sister courageous on debut

Cover image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan

New season 2-year-olds featured prominently at Sydney’s midweek Randwick-Kensington meeting on Wednesday, with a ding-busting finish between a pair of fillies in the opening race.

It came to a photo finish between the Tulloch Lodge-trained Betta Being Single (Better Than Ready) and the Ryan-Alexiou filly Gai’s Artist, and the photograph went the way of the latter, who raised a cheer from the crowd as the $1.95 favourite.

Gai’s Artist was on debut, as was the rest of this juvenile field, and she had earned her favouritism off a trial win at Hawkesbury on October 16. Bred by Bert and Gai Vieira, and raced for the Vieira Group in that well-known black and yellow livery, the filly is a full sister to Trapeze Artist.

Gai’s Artist flew the gates from her inside draw, but so too did Betta Being Single, and this pair clattered away from the rest of the field, so much so that when the chips were down, they couldn’t be caught.

It was a proper argument between the fillies all the way to the winning post, and it looked at one point like Gai’s Artist was giving the race away. But, under Tyler Schiller’s urgings, she drew alongside Betta Being Single for a well-timed bob of the head at the photo.

The official margin was 0.07l, with a fast-finishing Petawawa (Written Tycoon) 1.8l back to third. The time, which initially looked slick, was 57.80s, the final 600 metres in 34.34s on the Good 4.

Co-trainer Gerald Ryan was on-course at a bright Royal Randwick, and he told the raceday broadcast that he wasn’t too fussed about her greenness in the straight.

“She’d had one little jump-out back in July, and the next time she was out of the gates was at Hawkesbury 10 days ago, so she’s done a terrific job,” Ryan said. “They ran along a bit there in front and they kept it going. She showed a lot of fight and she was a little bit green in the straight, but she’ll improve off it.”

Wednesday was a big ask for the filly with so little experience, and her competition was fairly smart. It included the Astern filly Asteride, who had won an official trial at Kembla Grange on October 13, with Petawawa running second in that fixture.

“If they don’t improve, you scratch your head,” Ryan said. “What I liked about it (the win) was she showed a lot of fight and it gave me the idea that she’d get 1200 metres pretty easy.”

The Ryan-Alexiou stable has enjoyed a long relationship with Bert Vieira. Ryan trained Trapeze Artist through his outstanding career that included Group 1 victories in the Golden Rose and TJ Smith S., and Trapeze Artist is a flagship horse for Vieira and now an up-and-coming sire at Widden Stud.

“Bert does a good job,” Ryan said of his old friend. “He’s not the easiest, but he loves this filly and when we first saw her at Widden, there was a list of 2-year-olds he was keeping and I said this one was going on the list because I know where she’s going.”

Jockey Tyler Schiller had been aboard Gai’s Artist for the Hawkesbury trial earlier this month. He said it was a strong trial, even if the filly didn’t feel like she was going at any speed in the final 600 metres. She clocked 32.37s for it, however, which surprised Schiller when he looked up at the Hawkesbury board.

“Today she had to go that extra distance and she had to be brave sitting off that other horse,” he said. “She was good enough to run her down on the line. She was green but pretty tough. That arrogance of a Snitzel kicked in late and she bobbed at the right time, which I was very happy with.”

An Artist’s touch

At Widden Stud, the Kensington result was watched closely. Gai’s Artist was bred by Bert Vieira at Widden, where he keeps the entirety of his breeding stock, including this filly’s dam, Treppes (Domesday).

Trapeze Artist was Treppes’ second surviving foal in 2014, and this bloodline is one that is very important to Widden. It was a good advertisement on Wednesday to see it kicking along in a new vein with 2-year-old Gai’s Artist.

“Bert and Gai are huge supporters,” said Matt Comerford, nominations manager at Widden, speaking to The Thoroughbred Report. “They’ve had huge success with Trapeze, and now with a lovely filly that Bert retained out of the mare. He named her after his wife, who still really enjoys the racing side of things, so it was a great thrill to see this filly win with so much courage.”

Treppes is 16 years old these days. She has been to Snitzel the last seven breeding seasons, probably in hope of that nick reproducing itself.

“Interestingly, we toyed with the idea this year to switch her mating up,” Comerford said. “But Gerald (Ryan) advised us against it based on this filly (Gai’s Artist). Fortunately, Treppes tested 45 days positive to Snitzel again, so it’s a good thing. And when it is a good thing there’s no point changing anything.”

Treppes’ last foal was a Snitzel colt that would, ordinarily, be heading to the yearling sales come 2024. He’s a smart bay youngster with plenty of fans in the Widden Valley, and it’s a strong likelihood that he will be retained by the Vieira Group.

“We’d love to sell him,” Comerford said. “He’s a really lovely colt but I’d say he’s destined to go to Gerald and race for Bert and Gai. We didn’t even show him to the sales companies based purely on the fact that Bert made it very clear he’d be retaining him.”

Vieira’s decision-making regarding his stock each year is split between he and the heads at Widden. He has a large number of horses on the farm, and it’s an enviable process of deciding which fillies to keep and which colts to race.

Gai’s Artist was a highly promising option, Comerford recalls. He remembers her well.

“She was always very good,” he said. “She looked sharp and she was straightforward. We gave her a very good foal rating, albeit separate to what we thought of her on pedigree. She was good throughout, handling really well and overall we were really pleased with her outcome. To see her turn up and win a pre-Christmas 2-year-old race in town is pretty special.”

With a strong white blaze, Gai’s Artist looks a little like her famous brother.

“There are similarities,” Comerford said. “The mare stamps them that way. She’s a Domesday mare that throws a bit of that darkness in colour and a white face. This filly is probably a neater, more compact style than what Trapeze was, who was a bigger, stronger version of her.”

Ryan hinted that Gai’s Artist might be in line for a start in the million-dollar Golden Gift, which will take place at Rosehill Gardens on November 4.