The progressive stayer Piggyback has opened doors to Group One weight-for-age contests this autumn in 2026 courtesy of a sharp triumph in the Parramatta Cup held at Rosehill.
Johann Gerard-Dubord, assistant trainer to Ciaron Maher, highlighted a range of choices for the five-year-old, including an entry in the Tancred Stakes (2400m) at the same track on March 28.
“There is the Randwick City Stakes in two weeks. Long-term, there is the Chairman’s Handicap and Sydney Cup,” Gerard-Dubord said.
“But she likes Rosehill, so a race like the Tancred would have to be considered now.
“She had no weight today, so it’s a bit different, weight-for-age (in the Tancred Stakes), but she stays, and we don’t know how much better she can be.”
Ridden by Dylan Gibbons, the $3.10 favourite Piggyback took time to warm up from behind before delivering a precise move to edge out Bois D’Argent ($61) by a short neck, leaving Travolta ($4.20) half a neck adrift in third.
Gibbons confessed to overcoming the desire for a forward position, heeding the advice that she excels when ridden patiently.
“Before I chatted to the team, I thought this was going to be pretty simple, just put her in the box seat and ride her like a good thing,” Gibbons said.
“But the team knows this mare so well, and they told me she appreciates being back that couple of pairs, then being given the chance to finish off.
“It took everything in me not to give her a squeeze early and have her too close.”
The jockey drew comparisons between Piggyback and Maher’s 2023 Sydney Cup winner Explosive Jack, noting her suitability for the classic staying distance.
“I think she will run 3200m. She has a great attitude, she has that same big, gangly action of Explosive Jack. She settles well, and she is trained by the same camp, so she is in the right hands,” Gibbons said.
Throughout her career, Piggyback has shown glimpses of talent, with Gerard-Dubord crediting a short sharp Queensland excursion last spring as her breakthrough.
“She did really well last prep, especially towards the end of it,” he said.
“She went to Brisbane and the trip away, mentally she had to take it up that next level, and on the back of that she won the Colin Stephen Quality.
“She is still on the way up.”
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