Is Tattoo Artist the next great sire?

I’ve have witnessed some great harness racing performers over the last 65 years.

Some of these great performing colts and horses made great sires…some didn’t.

Some of the great fillies and mares became valuable broodmares…some, of course, didn’t.

One Harnesslink devotee recently asked my view on which recent star performer would be a success in the “stud barn,” as well as he did on the racetrack.

I am no expert on this subject matter. But I do have a thought about one new stallion that, I believe, will be the same kind of “star” in his second career that he was on the racetrack as he matured from a “c” to an “h”—Tatoo Artist (He’s Watching – Stylish Artist – Artsplace)

Of course, this great horse has plenty of history…but that’s just it…history, which has little or no bearing on the future, especially in harness racing.

Yes, it’s great to remember his achievements on the track with earnings of $3,000,000—plus or minus—depending on which side of the border you reside.

And he lived up to his family traits of speed and durability…but that’s all history, too, and that, of course, is only half of a puzzle about the future.

I really didn’t pay too much attention to him at ages two and three…but I sure took notice at ages four, five and six.

After review, yes, he did win over half of his 25 starts as a colt and, yes, he did win over $500,000 as a sophomore and took a 1:48.2 mark at Woodbine…and, yes, he gave Tall Dark Stranger a tussle when he finished second to him in the North American Cup up north of the border but, while many colts of that caliber hang up their spikes after a three-year-old season, or, in some cases, a four-year-old campaign, Tattoo Artist came back for more, in fact, two more seasons.

His record of p,4,1:47.1 off of, literally, breathtaking fractions of :25, :52 and 1:18.3 were just that—breathtaking.

His best two seasons were his last two and his durability in stretching his career on the tracks proved something to me that many other great champions did not bother to chance.

Many performances could be chosen in a career recapitulation but, in these eyes, his versatility both on-the-engine and off-the-pace was particularly noteworthy, as was his epic mile against
“Bulldog” when he paced his final half under :52—it would have been :51 7/8 if they clocked official times in “eighths” instead of quarters—in the Canadian Pacing Derby during his five-year-old season.

But, again, that’s history.

But, as the old saying from 1952 goes, “It takes two to tango” with the rest of the puzzle about to be continued with the pieces beginning to be put together with a future as far ahead as one can visualize.

With a broodmare roster on a par with the roster of the 1927 Yankees, 1950 Duke Ellington Orchestra, 1972 Miami Dolphins and the many Los Angeles Lakers teams, Tattoo Artist has the potential to dominate Sire Stakes events in two jurisdictions. He is standing stud in 2024 at Deo Volente Farms in Flemington, NJ for a fee of $10,000.

The broodmare band committed to Tattoo Artist consists of multiple million dollar plus winners and $500,000 plus winners and many sub-1:50 performers with sires including Sweet Lou, Somebeachsomewhere, Bettors Delight and Captaintreacherous, along other well-proven and successful sires.

Yes, there are many sires that expect success in the future—I’ve written about them, as well—but I see a chance to dominate in certain jurisdictions with one that has been an “artist” on the track and looks to paint a canvas of superstars in the future—Tattoo Artist.

by John Berry, for Harnesslink