Gai Waterhouse trained star 3 year old Pierro is all set to make it 9 straight win in Saturday’s Group 1 Caulfield Guineas after a dazzling display on Tuesday’s track work. Pierro worked in blinkers over 1200m coming home in 33.88 secs for the last 600m and 21.35 secs for the last 400m.
The unbeaten Pierro began his career in winning the Breeders Plate last Spring. After Pierro’s victory in the first 2 year old race of the season, Waterhouse famously said, ‘You have just seen the Golden Slipper winner’. Pierro not only fulfilled that prophecy by winning the Golden Slipper the following Autumn, but he added the Group 1 Sires Produce Stakes and the Group 1 Champagne Stakes to his resume as well.
After a well deserved spell, Pierro came back in winning the Run to The Rose (1200m) and the Bill Stutt Stakes (1600m) as a 3 year old and is now a raging favourite for the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas.
The scary thing about Pierro is that he could only get better as he gets older and steps up in distance. Looking at his pedigree (Lonhro x Miss Right Note, by Daylami), his sire Lonhro was the champion middle distance horse and his dam sire, Daylami, was the winner of the French 2000 Guineas at 3, and a Group 1 winner at 2400m as an older horse.
As you can see, Pierro would turn out to be even better as he gets older and runs over more ground. Victory in the Cox Plate this year could well be within Pierro’s grasp.
by Owens Wong
