Canada’s Three-Year-Old Pacing Colt of the Year for 2020 resurfaced Friday morning in Florida in what was his first charted mile of the 2021 season.
Tattoo Artist, in rein to Dale Spence for trainer Dr. Ian Moore, fended off stablemate Lady Arthur by a neck in a sharp clocking of 1:52.2 in a Southern Oaks Training Centre qualifier.
Spence set fractions of :27.3, :57.1 and 1:24.3 with the four-year-old son of Hes Watching-Stylish Artist who used a :27.4 final frame to post the narrow victory.
Trainer Moore plans to qualify Tattoo Artist again next Friday with plans to ship to trainer Chris Ryder for the first leg of the Graduate. After that, he's slated to head home for the Confederation Cup at Flamboro Downs. That start will depend on the state of live harness racing in Ontario.
Tattoo Artist, a 13-time winner who boasts a bankroll of $907,030 is owned by Let It Ride Stables Inc, Frank Cannon and Diamond Creek Racing.