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No Golden Slipper for Black Opal Winner Trapeze Artist
Gerald Ryan’s progressive young colt Trapeze Artist was in flying form at Canberra on Sunday winning the Black Opal Stakes as a $31 roughie in betting, but won’t be pressing onto the 2017 Golden Slipper Stakes.
Gerald Ryan will not pay the late 2017 Golden Slipper Stakes entry for his impressive Black Opal Stakes winner Trapeze Artist. Photo: Daniel Costello.
A ten-horse field of two-year-olds faced off in this season’s $300,000 Group 3 Black Opal Stakes (1200m), a race known to produce subsequent Group 1 winners including Criterion (2013) and Takedown (2015).
Ridden by Tim Clark, who also rode the Canberra Cup winner Dark Eyes to victory the race before, Trapeze Artist was super-impressive in his tearaway three length victory over the John O’Shea-trained Trekking (2nd) and Lindsay Park’s Muraaqeb (3rd).
While a number of juveniles in the Black Opal Stakes field are eyeing a run in the $3.5 million Group 1 Golden Slipper Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill Gardens on March 18, Trapeze Artist isn’t nominated for the world’s richest race for two-year-olds.
Ryan doesn’t believe connections will be tempted to pay up the hefty $155,000 late Golden Slipper Stakes entry either with the season’s gun fillies She Will Reign and Houtzen looking hard to beat.
“We haven’t left him [nominated] in the Slipper, his aim has always been the Sires or the Champagne,” Ryan told The Sydney Morning Herald.
“We’ll just see how we go from here. I don’t think we’ll be paying the $155,000 [late entry] because there’s a couple of fillies there that are very hard to beat.”
Instead Ryan has the Black Opal Stakes winner tracking towards a run over more metres in Sydney’s $1 million Group 1 Inglis Sires’ (1400m) at Royal Randwick on April 1 during ‘The Championships’.
Also on the autumn agenda for Trapeze Artist, who has now won two of his three career starts, is a possible step-up to a mile back at Randwick on April 15 in the $500,000 Group 1 Champagne Stakes (1600m).
“We have a nice horse on our hands and I reckon when you see him walking around the mounting yard he’s going to end up a really nice three-year-old,” Ryan added.
Ryan prepared the filly Peggy Jean (2014) for her win in the ATC Sires’ Produce Stakes, but he is yet to prepare a Champagne Stakes winner.
To back Trapeze Artist next race at the right price and to access the best all-in Golden Slipper Stakes odds head to Ladbrokes.com.au now.
2017 Black Opal Stakes Results & Finishing Order
Canberra Race 7 – 05/03/2017
| Place | # | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Br. | Wgt. | SP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | TRAPEZE ARTIST | Gerald Ryan | Tim Clark | – | 10 | 56kg | $31 |
| 2 | 5 | TREKKING | John O’Shea | Brenton Avdulla | 3L | 2 | 57kg | $5 |
| 3 | 7 | MURAAQEB | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Mark Zahra | 3.5L | 7 | 56kg | $3.80 |
| 4 | 9 | MARSUPIAL | John O’Shea | Kerrin McEvoy | 3.8L | 1 | 56kg | $14 |
| 5 | 2 | CHAUFFEUR | Gerald Ryan | Craig Williams | 4.2L | 3 | 57kg | $2.90F |
| 6 | 15 | CUBA | John P Thompson | Joshua Parr | 4.9L | 9 | 56kg | $31 |
| 7 | 3 | KHAN | Peter & Paul Snowden | Blake Shinn | 5.3L | 5 | 57kg | $8.50 |
| 8 | 8 | REFLECTIVITY | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes | Tommy Berry | 7.4L | 4 | 56kg | $17 |
| 9 | 16 | EXCELSIOR | Brooke Somers | Corey Brown | 7.9L | 8 | 56kg | $101 |
| 10 | 11 | MOSSMAN GORGE | Matthew Dale | Brodie Loy | 9.7L | 6 | 56kg | $21 |
| – | 14 | VILLA CARLOTTA | James Cummings | Glyn Schofield | – | 0 | – | – |
| – | 4 | MENARI | Gerald Ryan | Tim Clark | – | 0 | – | – |
| – | 1 | JUKEBOX | Ciaron Maher | Luke Nolen | – | 0 | – | – |
| – | 6 | HOUTZEN | Toby Edmonds | Jeff Lloyd | – | 0 | – | – |
| – | 12 | GUNNISON | Peter & Paul Snowden | – | – | 0 | – | – |
| – | 13 | FROM WITHIN | Chris Waller | – | – | 0 | – | – |
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