TRAPEZE ARTIST gelding FLYING BANDIT made it two on the trot with a dominant three-length victory at Kembla Grange on Tuesday.
Settling at the tail of the 1500m Class 1 contest, jockey Jay Ford came around the field searching for better going on the Heavy 10 track and boy did FLYING BANDIT let down.
Arresting the lead at the furlong marker, the three-year-old raced away to beat JOINT MISSION by 3 lengths with a further 1.3 lengths to VIESTE.
“It felt like I was going to win a long way out,” winning jockey Jay Ford said.
“He didn’t jump as well but he travelled better [than previous starts].
“The further the race went on the further he got into his groove and at one point I looked around and could see he was the only horse travelling.
“I didn’t want to hit the front too soon but he was just cruising along. He’s made giant strides this prep and will do it again next prep.”
$20k @mmsnippets Adelaide yearling FLYING BANDIT continues the hot run for @widdenstud sire TRAPEZE ARTIST with a comfortable win in the lucky last at @kemblaraces ! He’ll go to the paddock now as a 2 time winner from 3 career starts. Thank you @kjparkerracing & Jay Ford! pic.twitter.com/ixkHpXebqo
— PR🟢VEN Thoroughbreds (@ProvenTbreds) April 9, 2024
FLYING BANDIT stopped the clock at 1.35:96, which is nothing flash but our resident times analyst, Nic Ashman delved deeper.
“It’s about 1.2 lengths slower than average for this class,” Ashman said.
“But the anchor was dropped during the middle stages of the race making it difficult for them to run fast overall time.
“They’ve gone out quick but then posted a sluggish 13.25 between the 800 – 600m followed by a 12.82 and 12.95.
“These three sections, collectively, are around 8 lengths slower than what we expect during these splits from this class of race.
“I’d be more focussed on what they did when asked for an effort. Here we see Flying Bandit going through the first 900m 1.3 lengths faster than average and finishing off his last 200m 1.7 lengths quicker than average in what was a totally dominant performance.”
FLYING BANDIT’s win followed a landmark weekend for his sire TRAPEZE ARTIST who produced two new stakes winners on Day 1 of The Championships at Randwick in the shape of DUCASSE and FACILE.
FLYING BANDIT has already banked more than $55,000 in three career starts, after being purchased by Proven for a bargain $20,000 from Widden Stud’s draft at the 2022 Adelaide Magic Millions sale. He will head for a well deserved break now before returning in the spring.
Proven’s winners tally for 2024 is now up to 14 while our season count stands at 34.
