A Golden
Slipper winner and now a leading sire Pierro has plenty of exciting horses to
run for him in the autumn, but none more so than his stunning four year-old son
Pierata, who is overdue to rack up a deserved Group I win.
The
Greg Hickman trained Pierata has won six of his 15 starts earning over $2.7
million and was last seen finishing third in ta top class renewal of the Group
I VRC Sprint Classic.
His best wins to date have come in the Group II ATC Missile Stakes, Group III ATC
Sydney Stakes and Bill Ritchie Stakes as well as last year's Magic Millions 3YO
Guineas, but a Group I win has so far proven elusive.
He just returned to work following a spell at Torryburn Stud and Greg Hickman will
now seek to address that missing Group I win in 2019
"He came back
yesterday and looks enormous," Hickman told Racenet.
"He's come back with nice coverage.
"If you look at the picture when he went out and the one when he came back you
can see a more mature horse.
"I'm looking at him now over the box and I think wow.
"His jowl has got stronger, his neck has got thicker and this will be his
preparation hopefully."
Hickman will plan a program that will see Pierata race exclusively in Sydney
during the autumn, targeted at three Group I weight-for-age sprints.
"He's a very athletic horse and his movements are very good," he said.
"When we got on him this morning, he launched six foot in the air, took a leap
and a bound.
"He'll have two trials leading into the three races we're looking to target.
The ATC Canterbury Stakes, TJ Smith (Stakes) and All aged Stakes."
A highly desirable stallion prospect, Pierata is a half-brother to Group III
winner Ashokan from Group III winning Flying Spur mare November Flight from a
daughter of champion sire Zabeel.
He is the fastest son of Pierro, who has already sired 13 stakes-winners from
his first two crops including three Group I winners in Arcadia Queen, Pinot and
Levendi.