The in form Ciaron Maher stable produced the quinella in the$250,000 Group III ATC Colin Stephen Quality (2400m) at Rosehill on Saturday with race favourite Juja Kibo (GB) beaten by progressive mare Piggyback.
The five year-old daughter of Trapeze Artist has been working through her grades and was a last start winner at Doomben over 2200m in Benchmark 78 company.
Having her first try at a Black Type race, she enjoyed a cosy run in transit for Tim Clark and burst through along the inside to score a half length win that has earned ballot free exemption for next week’s Group I ATC The Metropolitan in which she will carry just 50kg.
“I thought Juja had a pretty good run, and Piggy just out-toughed him really. I thought before the race it was the best she'd presented ever and the times from her last run were very quick, so she's a horse on the up,” said Maher, who is now giving serious consideration to a start in the G1 Metrop.
“We'll certainly see how she comes through it, but she's had the prep to back up and has had a really good grounding, and a gap between runs, so if you did want to back up, it would work, I would think.”
Piggyback runs for a very happy team of Dynamic Syndications owners and was purchased for just $27,000 from the 2022 Magic Millions Online September Sale after she was purchased originally from the Widden Stud draft at the Magic Millions National Yearling Sale for $32,000 by Lous Bloodstock.
Piggyback has six wins from 17 starts with prizemoney in excess of $459,000.
Bred by the Vieria Group, Piggyback is the best of three winners from five foals to race from Wowee, a talented stayer by Choisir that won the Group III South Australian Fillies Classic over 2500m.
Wowee was on-sold at the 2022 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale for $30,000 to WA based Mungrup Stud and has foaled this spring producing a colt by Ghaiyyath (IRE).
She is the sixth stakes-winner for Trapeze Artist, who won the Golden Rose back in 2017 and stands at Widden stud at a fee of $33,000.
