Two year-old Trapeze Artist filly Pleasure Queen opened her account with a promising debut victory at Randwick on Thursday.
Pleasure Queen salutes at Randwick - image Bradley Photography
Trained by Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou, Pleasure Queen has shown promise in recent trials and went out equal favourite for the 1000m fillies maiden.
Ridden patiently by Josh Parr, she travelled deep all the way but found a good rhythm and worked into the race stylishly to go on and win by nearly a length.
Sterling Alexiou was well satisfied with the win and confident there is more to come from Pleasure Queen, a homebred for Bert Vieira and his family, who bred and raced her sire Trapeze Artist with so much success.
“Really pleasing. She's just been steadily improving all preparation. She's come a really long way the last sort of six or seven weeks and as you can see she's still pretty raw but she's got a bit of a motor there,” he said.
“Mentally she seems to be going the right way and taking everything in her stride, and I think Bert and the family are going to have a bit of fun with her.”
Pleasure Queen is a winner on debut - image Bradley Photography
Pleasure Queen holds an entry for the Group II ATC Percy Sykes Stakes next month with the plan to keep the filly in work for now.
“Yeah, I think so. There's no reason not to. I think she's going to be a lot better next time around but she's certainly handling everything with her up home at the minute and heading in the right way,” Alexiou added.
Foaled and raised at Widden, which is also home to Trapeze Artist, Pleasure Queen is a full sister to stakes-placed Pleasure Artist and is the third winner from three to race from unraced Pierro mare Perfect Pleasure, who has been married to Trapeze Artist and produced another colt by him last spring before having a change of pace and going to Sweet Ride.
Perfect Pleasure is a grand-daughter of Group I VRC Oaks winner Sandy’s Pleasure and half-sister to Group II winner Torio’s Quest and stakes-winner Bippo No Bungus.
