Mothers’ group having a ‘fabulous time’ with brilliant filly She’s An Artist who returns to Flemington as Creswick Stakes favourite
A group of school mothers have turned into racing enthusiasts thanks to unbeaten filly She’s An Artist, the hot favourite for the Creswick Stakes at Flemington.
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She’s An Artist has transformed a school mothers’ social WhatsApp group chat into a resource for racing replays and insights as a cohort of largely first-time owners delight in their unbeaten filly.
Sursum Corda, a 20-strong female syndicate, will be in full voice Saturday as She’s An Artist returns to Flemington favourite to win the Listed AR Creswick Stakes (1200m).
The flashy chestnut with striking baldy face roared to an emphatic victory at Headquarters last start.
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The brilliant performance followed a five-length Bendigo romp on debut.
She’s An Artist, trained by Ciaron Maher, has won her two starts to date by a combined 8¾ lengths and done so in electric time.
Sursum Corda member Megan Burges has watched the Flemington replay “probably 100 times”.
“We’ll be there on Saturday making a lot of noise, I’d imagine, hopefully anyway,” Burges said.
“We had boys who finished school together two years ago, when we were getting towards the end of the school year we said wouldn’t it be great to find a way to stay in touch.
“It was a bit of a joke at the start, I said ‘why don’t we buy into a racehorse’ and then it got legs.
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“We spoke to Louis (Le Meteyer of Astute Bloodstock) and the first horse he brought to us was She’s An Artist … it’s been a fabulous experience.
“The girls have gone from knowing literally nothing (about racing) to buying Best Bets and talking about sectionals and race planning, how the track is, is it going to dry out for Saturday et cetera.
“I got on a plane two weeks ago, so my phone was turned off for an hour, and when I turned it back on there was 27 unread WhatsApp messages.
“Every newsagency in the local area has now sold out of Best Bets.”
Sursum Corda own a 20 per cent share in the filly.
Astute Bloodstock purchased She’s An Artist for $175,000 out of the 2023 Premier Yearling Sale.
The Trapeze Artist filly showed early speed and promise but needed time to develop.
Sydney-based managing owner Le Meteyer will be glued to a screen from Deauville, France on Saturday (AEST).
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“I’ve actually got big FOMO (fear of missing out) not being there,” Le Meteyer said.
“I’ll be watching … she’s $1.60 favourite, the only thing I’m a little bit concerned with is the two week back-up, she’s pulled up beautifully, worked really well.
“She’s only little and the two weeks backup could be a bit testing for her, Ciaron wouldn’t race her if she wasn’t right and she’s a filly with a lot of talent.
“The market says it’s a one-horse race, I don’t know about that, I’ve got a lot of respect for a couple of the others, but look, it’s very exciting.”
Le Meteyer has enjoyed great success with boutique Astute Bloodstock, Group 1 winners include Harlem and Amelia’s Jewel, and loves sharing the ownership ride.
“When you see the joy a good horse can bring to people it’s quite infatuating,” Le Meteyer said.
“There’s probably a total of 30 owners in the horse and they’re all having an amazing time.
“The banter and the chat, that’s what racing is all about, the shared excitement and shared passion.”
Originally published as Mothers’ group having a ‘fabulous time’ with brilliant filly She’s An Artist who returns to Flemington as Creswick Stakes favourite