Aspiring Artist, the Horse That Returned from the Dead and Stands Tall on the Straight

Back on the Palermo Dirt, the Son of Angiolo Regained His Winning Ways to Capture the Clásico Guillermo Paats (L)

Back on the Palermo dirt, Aspiring Artist returned to his brilliant best to capture the Clásico Guillermo Paats (L-1000m, dirt), quickly putting behind him the loss of his undefeated record, which occurred when he finished a lackluster fifth last time out in the Clásico Estrellas Junior Sprint (G3) on the San Isidro turf.

Just two weeks after that demanding effort, the chestnut showed absolutely no signs of fatigue and established a commanding presence over the four rivals that lined up against him. While the half-length official margin over Nissos (Il Mercato) might appear visually close on paper, the son of Angiolo gave the distinct impression of having plenty left in the tank.

Guided by jockey Kevin Banegas, the heavy favorite locked horns early in a prompt battle for the lead alongside the aforementioned Nissos and Thomas Shelby (Uncle Chuck). He began to assert his dominance from the 300-meter mark onward, maintaining his advantage all the way to the wire while his rider remained hands-and-heels in the saddle.

As noted, the official margin was a half-length over Nissos, with Thomas Shelby filling the trifecta spot a further three-quarters of a length back. The clock stopped at 57.49s, a time somewhat slower than the mark posted by El Epecuén (Il Campione) a few races earlier when capturing the Clásico Diamond Jubilee (L).

Trained by Lucas Caru for Stud Pampa and bred by Triple Alliance SA., Aspiring Artist is flying high in his current campaign. It is a remarkable turnaround for a colt who narrowly cheated death earlier this season after a severe bout of colic sidelined him just as he was peaking for the Clásico Guillermo Kemmis (G3).

Now fully healthy, at the top of his game, and back on his preferred surface, Aspiring Artist continues to stack up high-profile victories as his connections look ahead to potentially taking on older horses down the road.