PIERRO – a brilliant multiple Gr1 Winner at both 2 and 3 is a Champion Sire in the making.
Champion at 2; Brilliant dual Gr.1 winner at 3; PIERRO is the best son of Champion sire Lonhro.
He was Timeform’s highest-rated juvenile in Australasia since Luskin Star back in 1977 !
PIERRO
Coolmore Stud-based stallion Pierro (Lonhro) has sired his second Classic winner from his first crop of three-year-olds after Levendi won the ATC Australian Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) on Saturday.
LEVENDI (number 6)
However
Levendi ($8) had to survive a protest from Victoria Derby (Gr 1, 2500m) winner Ace High (High Chaparral), ($5 favourite) after prevailing by a nose in a photo finish over the David Payne-trained colt. Tangled (Snitzel) ($26) was five and three quarter lengths away in third.
The Peter Gelagotis-trained Levendi, who had won the Tulloch Stakes (Gr 2, 2000m) at Rosehill, joins the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Pinot as a Group One winner for Pierro.
PINOT
Pinot won the VRC Oaks (Gr 1, 2500m) in the spring.
The Victorian-based Gelagotis was relieved to keep the race after Ace High’s jockey Tye Angland alleged interference over the last 100 metres.
"We've all started from humble beginnings and you get given opportunities in life when you've got the guts and determination to take them," Gelagotis said.
"We are a big family and that includes all the stable staff.
"You hope the rider is on the job with you and I don't think we could have had a better guy on top who can be strong in a finish."
Gelagotis said he had gained confidence after Levendi won the Tulloch Stakes.
"He has the right breeding to be a stayer and it's just great to have a horse like him in the stable.
"He was always travelling well and you could see he was going to let down and be in the finish."
Zahra admitted he was unsure of the result when he and Angland went across the line.
"It is the moment of truth when you pull up and it's going to be the most disheartening feeling ever or sheer joy and we didn't know," he said.
"I said him and he (Angland) said me."
Payne, was gracious in defeat after Ace High narrowly failed in his attempt to win the Victoria Derby-Australian Derby double. "I can't complain," Payne said.
"Tye rode him perfectly and it was just a bob of the heads. He'll go for a break now and we'll look to the Melbourne Cup in the spring. But I did want to win two Derbies."
A $140,000 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale purchase by Manny Gelagotis from the Widden Stud draft in 2016, Levendi (3 c Pierro - Lipari by Redoute’s Choice) has now won five of his ten starts, three of them at Group level, for prize money of $1,653,950.
Levendi is one of two winners for the stakes-placed mare Lipari (Redoute’s Choice), whose two foals to race are both winners.
Levend’s second dam is the SAJC Australasian Oaks (Gr 1, 2000m) winner Tully Thunder (Thunder Gulch), who is also from the same family as stakes winners Sufficient (Zabeel) and Zamzam (Redoute’s Choice).
Widden Stud sold Levendi’s half-sister by Sebring (More Than Ready) as Lot 207 at this week’s Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale for $500,000.
Lipari has a More Than Ready weanling filly to offer as a yearling next year.
Pierro, whose oldest progeny are three-year-olds, is the sire of seven stakes winners including Australian Derby winner Levendi and last year’s VRC Oaks (Gr 1, 2500m) winner Pinot.
Pierro had 15 yearlings sell at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, selling to a high of $1,050,000 with an average of $297,667.
LEVENDI joins the filly PINOT, the Group 1 VRC Oaks heroine in November, as classic winners from the first foal crop of PIERRO, himself a member of an elite club to have swept the Sydney Group 1 juvenile Grand-Slam of the Golden Slipper-Sires-Champagne Stakes.
PIERRO’s classic double is the BEST First Crop 3yo Sire result since High Chaparral’s 3yo’s of 2009-10 which included the Australian Derby trifecta Shoot Out, Descarado and Monaco Comsul as well as 10 x Gr1 Winner So You Think.
PIERRO’s already the sire of 13 Stakes Horses along with 52 individual winners of 86 races:
7 Stakes Winners:
LEVENDI – Gr1 – Gr2 – Gr3 Winner & Gr2 placed
PINOT – Gr1 & Gr3 Winner
TULIP – Twice Gr3 Winner plus Gr1 & Gr3 placed
PIERATA – Gr3 & LR Winner plus Gr1, twice Gr2 & LR placed
SATIN SLIPPER – LR Winner & LR Placed
ROY HAD ENOUGH - LR
KENTUCKY BREEZE - LR
6 Stakes Placed:
Furore – Gr1 placed
Poseidon’s Pool – Gr3 placed
Action - SP
Canyonero - SP
Holbein – SP
Princess Pierro - SP
Also to perform at Stakes level have been:
Pissaro - 4th in the VRC Derby Gr1 and the Moonee Valley Vase Gr2
Arcadia Prince – 4th WATC Fairetha S. LR
Dynamic Syndications purchased a fantastic colt by PIERRO at the yearling sales in 2018.
Offered by Gerry Harvey’s Baramul Stud, our colt is a son of the Gr1, 4 time Gr2, and Gr3 placed Danehill mare CONFER.
CONFER is the Dam of 7 winners including Gr3 and LR placed NITE ROCKER.
CONFER is a daughter of outstanding racemare SHACKLE (by Luskin Star) a Gr3 and twice LR Winner and was three time Group 1 placed.
Bred on the PIERRO (a son of LONHRO) over DANEHILL this Cross is the most successful with PIERRO so far and this is the cross that produced LEVENDI.
On this cross there are now the following 11 of his 13 Stakes Horses:
LEVENDI, PIERATA, TULIP, KENTUCKY BREEZE, SATIN SLIPPER, Action, Canyonero, Furore, Holbien, Poseidon’s Pool, Princess Pierro also Arcadia Prince.
Gerry Harvey liked the colt he had bred enough to purchase a share in him to race him with Team Dynamic, Gai and Adrian.
5% Shares in our PIERRO x CONFER Colt trained by GAI and ADRIAN and raced in co-ownership with Gerry Harvey are $9,425 and include GST and ALL COSTS to 30 June 2018.
To chat about becoming involved in a top colt by a super sire contact Adam Watt at our office on 02 9540 1511.