Tattoo Artist: A $3.2M Beast with Frozen Genes Heading Down Under

In a coup for New Zealand breeders looking for outcross firepower and performance longevity, Dancingonmoonlight has announced the acquisition of frozen semen from one of North America’s most durable and explosive pacers—Tattoo Artist.

A son of the Dan Patch 2YO Colt of the Year and World Champion He's Watching (1:46.4), Tattoo Artist isn’t just another high-speed headline—he’s a hardened, battle-tested warrior who raced from two to six, banked over $3.2 million, and knocked heads with the best across four seasons at the top.

If the old adage is “breed to what works,” then Tattoo Artist is exactly that. He's Watching brings blistering juvenile speed, and his dam Stylish Artist—by Artsplace—was the complete package: dual Group 1 winner, 2YO Breeders Crown champion, and a career mark of 1:51.0 on her way to $940,000 in earnings. Put simply: the guy is genetically stacked.

"Absolute beast,” say his connections. And the record backs it.

Tattoo Artist won 40 races and placed in another 29. As a two-year-old, he was electric—winning five of eight starts, including the Ontario Sires Stakes final in 1:52.0. He backed that up as a three-year-old by finishing second only to Tall Dark Stranger in the North America Cup and taking out the O’Brien 3YO Colt of the Year award after pacing 1:48.2 in the OSS.

And it didn’t stop there.

He campaigned right through to age six, finishing second to Bulldog Hanover in multiple features—including the Breeders Crown—and crucially, defeating top-tier types like Bythemissal and Allywag Hanover to win the 2023 Canadian Pacing Derby. That performance helped land him O’Brien Aged Pacer of the Year.

“I actually saw Tattoo Artist race at Yonkers in the rich Borgota Series (that Mossdale Ben just won),” said Dancingonmoonlight’s Sam Langrope. “He happened to win that night and I had a really good chat to Chris Ryder and Dexter [Dunn] about him. They both spoke very highly of him.”

Langrope wasn’t just going on race footage and a flashy résumé.

“I also was able to talk to his vet in North America and he said he’d never seen a horse as sound as him from two through six, racing the sort of miles he did week in and week out.”

It’s hard to argue. Tattoo Artist won on all track sizes—half, five-eighths, seven-eighths, and mile—and set multiple records while pacing sub-1:50 on 23 occasions. He’s closed in 25.4 or faster ten times and could just as easily lead in 25 as he could launch off cover.

“The more I looked into his racing résumé, the more I thought—I have to have him… He was a class two-year-old, came back at three to be top of his class in Canada, ran into Bulldog Hanover as a five-year-old and never finished further back than third in five starts against him, then came back at six and won Aged Pacer of the Year!”

From a commercial perspective, Tattoo Artist offers something refreshingly different.

“We also wanted to offer something a little different than the norm, to give our breeders much more choice genetically,” Langrope said.

“Offering a son of He's Watching excites me because of the precocious early-running blood through this family. He’s Watching was a world champion two-year-old, Tattoo Artist’s mother was a 2YO Breeders Crown winner, and her dam, Honey Bunny, is a half to Magical Dreamer—who left Idyllic, who then left Idyllic Beach. Both millionaires. One was USA 2YO Filly of the Year, the other a Jugette winner.”

For breeders who tire of the “retire them early” model, Tattoo Artist represents a refreshing alternative.

“I often get asked why these American horses retire at the end of their three-year-old season and don’t race on… Well here’s a horse who did it all. He was a class 2YO, a champion 3YO, went toe to toe with the Bulldog as a five-year-old, and was still firing bullets at six.”

Frozen semen from Tattoo Artist will be available in limited quantities this upcoming season through Dancingonmoonlight, giving Kiwi breeders the rare opportunity to tap into a horse that not only lit up the stopwatch but wore down the best week after week, year after year. Straws will be available at $5,000 + GST (Pay on Live Foal) — exceptional value for proven performance, durability, and elite maternal genetics.