Parisian Artiste has ID24 in his sights

Rejuvenated Victorian harness racing trotter Parisian Artiste (Love You) is Inter Dominion (ID24 NSW) bound again after capturing his second Swan Hill Cup on Friday night (Nov 1).

The harness racing six-year-old is building back to his formidable best and his King of the North @ Llowalong Farms Swan Hill Trotters Cup win told trainer Alex Ashwood all he needed to know about heading north at the end of the month.

“He is 100 percent sound, he’s happy, he’s healthy and getting back to what he was.  We couldn’t be happier.  So we will give him a little freshen up and the Inter is where we will aim now,” he said.

Parisian Artiste, known at the stables as Hector, has been building steadily through his latest comeback campaign.

Driven by Ashwood’s partner Tayla French the trotter had recorded three solid placings, most notably an eye-catching second to superstar Just Believe in the Maryborough Cup at his previous start.

At Swan Hill, Parisian Artiste started off a 20-metre handicap and French cruised around to sit outside the leader for the final mile of the 2690 metre journey before scoring comfortably by 2.3 metres.

Watch the replay click here

The win was the first in over two years for Parisian Artiste who was one of Victoria’s best in his three- and four-year-old seasons.

The VicBred Super Series Final was among eight three-year-old victories, and at four, he took out the Swan Hill and Maryborough Cups before tackling the 2022 Inter Dominion.

“Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but we probably shouldn’t have put him in that Inter Dominion series at four,” Ashwood said.

“Being a home Inter we thought we might as well have a throw at the stumps because he was racing so well. But he was a tired horse and had too many hard runs going into the series.

“He still held his own and made the final (sixth) but it basically all went downhill from there.”

Soon after that campaign, Parisian Artiste presented with what appeared to be colic symptoms.

“He couldn’t pass manure or urine, and we went back and forth to the vets for a week,” Ashwood said.

“They were talking bowel surgery, and they couldn’t even tell us whether he would survive.  Then one of the vets dropped onto that it might be a nerve issue (rather than colic) and that was the turning point. He spent four weeks at the clinic, and it was a long road from there,” he said.

Parisian Artiste had one run back – at the Swan Hill Cup 12 months ago – but was disappointing and was subsequently found to have bone bruising, resulting in another two months in the paddock.

“We started him in the water walker this time and there was a lot of long slow work to get him back up. But he’s been coming along nicely – all of his runs this campaign have been good, his last four in particular,” Ashwood said.

Ashwood said he believed “Hector” was now primed and ready to make a serious attempt on the Sydney Inter Dominion.

“The format will suit him with three runs in a week into the final,” he said.

“He’s Tayla’s baby, her pride and joy, so she’ll take him up a week or so before the first heat in Newcastle.  We’ll just back off a little now, give him a freshen up and go again.”

For the moment, though after the journey they’ve been through, the couple is just thrilled to have Parisian Artiste back up and racing to his potential.

“Pretty ecstatic to cloud nine about describes it – when I went across the line at Swan Hill it was such a relief.  I was just stoked,” French said.

The first round of ID24 will be at Newcastle on November 29 (2030 metres); the second round is at Bathurst on December 4 (1730m); third round is Menangle on December 7 (2300m); and the grand finals and consolation are at Menangle on December 14 (2300m).

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink