PIERRO – WILL HE BECOME A “SUCCESSFUL” SIRE IN HIS STUD CAREER?

24/04/13

It was good to see Pierro retired after his gallant second in the two-million dollar Group 1 Doncaster Handicap at Randwick last Saturday.

Why was it “good to see”? Well put simply, 99% of what could reasonably be called “successful stallions” are retired from the racetrack before they’ve had “25 or more starts” and very few stallions that have either 1) raced in Australia, or 2) that have been imported into Australia in the last 40 years to stand at stud after their racing career is over can prove my statement wrong. A “successful” stallion is deemed to be one that can achieve a minimum winners-to-runners ratio of 60% plus a minimum stakeswinners-to-runners ratio of 5% or above. Those two more than fair parameters still allow 40% of a stallion’s progeny that race to never win a race on any registered Australian racetrack and 95% of their progeny that race to never win a stakes race – that is a Listed, Group 3, Group 2, or Group 1 event.

Pierro only had his fourteenth race start last Saturday so he certainly won’t fail at stud on the score of being overraced like many stallions are.

Originally sold at the 2009 Magic Millions sale at the Gold Coast for $230,000 Pierro’s racetrack achievements are well documented and were certainly exemplary. In fact in his 14 starts he never once missed a place, winning 11 races and running two seconds and one third.

In essence Pierro was the complete racehorse. All his 14 race starts were at black type level and upon his retirement he’d won five Group 1’s, four Group 2’s, one Group 3 and one Listed race. He also ran two seconds at Group 1 level (Caulfield Guineas and Doncaster) and one third at Group 1 level (Cox Plate). At weight-for-age Pierro had three starts for two wins (Canterbury Stakes and George Ryder Stakes) and a third (Cox Plate).

Going forward to his stud career, another wonderful string in Pierro’s bow was his capacity to handle any type of going and during his illustrious career he won on all track ratings of good, slow and heavy.

So will Pierro become a “successful” sire in his time at stud? To be entitled to make an educated comment on that question, it’s best we research his pedigree in detail, so let’s look at his breeding.

 

Lonhro (1)

Octagonal (2)

Zabeel (3)

Eight Carat (4)

Shadea (5)

Straight Strike (6)

Concia (7)

Miss Right Note (8)

Daylami (9)

Doyoun (10)

Daltawa (11)

Sky Song (12)

Sadler’s Wells (13)

Criquette (14)

 

 

1. Lonhro – a champion racehorse and one of the few stallions to have more than 25 starts and still be able to achieve “successful” statistics. He won 26 of his 35 starts including 11 Group 1’s. He retired with $5,790,510 in prizemoney earnings and last season stood at Darley for a service fee of $110,000 after he entered stud in 2004 for $66,000 at Woodlands Stud. Lonhro currently achieves a winners-to-runners percentage of just over 72 and a stakeswinners-to-runners ratio of almost 8%.

2. Octagonal – a champion racehorse that won 14 of 28 starts, including 10 Group 1’s. He however proved my theory right about “overraced” stallions and is a proven stud failure as whilst he achieves a winners-to-runners ratio of just over 62% he has an abysmal stakeswinners-to-runners ratio of just over 3%.

3. Zabeel – started 19 times and won seven races including the Group 1 Australian Guineas. At stud he’s achieved a winners-to-runners ratio of just over 72% and he has a stakeswinners-to-runners ratio of over 10%.

4. Eight Carat – champion broodmare. Started five times and couldn’t win a race but she produced top Group 1 racetrack winners of the ilk of Octagonal, Mouawad, Kaapstad, Diamond Lover and Our Marquise.

5.  Shadea – won two races including the Group 3 Sweet Embrace Stakes. At stud she produced not only Lonhro, but another Group 1 winner Niello, as well as the Listed winner Shannara.

6.  Straight Strike – won four races in America but never won a black type race although he was stakes placed. Was a champion stallion in New Zealand during his life at stud.

7.  Concia – won two races. At stud she produced Lonhro’s dam Shadea as well as the 1993 Group 1 AJC Oaks winner Mahaya.

8.  Miss Right Note – was born in Ireland and she raced in both France and Australia. She won two races, one at 1600m and the other at 2400m.

9.  Daylami – won 11 races up to 2400m including seven Group 1’s all around the world, including the Breeder’s Cup Turf and Man O’War Stakes in America, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and Eclipse Stakes in England, and the Irish Champion Stakes in Ireland. Was voted “World Horse of the Year” in 1999 however he has been a failure at stud producing only 60% winners-to-runners and an abysmal 3.12% stakeswinners-to-runners. Whilst he’s never stood at stud in Australia, Daylami is known to Australians via two horses he’s sired, firstly the imported 2006 Cox Plate flop Grey Swallow (12th of 12 at 10/1 to Fields of Omagh) which now stands at stud here and that current slowcoach that Peter Moody trains, Voila Ici, which has only run one placing in seven starts since arriving here.

10. Doyoun – won three races in England including the Group 1 English 2000 Guineas at 1600m. Doyoun is a son of Mill Reef, which won the 1971 Arc de Triomphe at 2400 metres.

11. Daltawa – a daughter of Mr Prospector’s son Miswaki. Daltawa won two races in France including a Listed race at 3YO over 1300m (Prix Ronde de Nuit) and she ran second in the Group 3 Prix Penelope at 2100m.  Apart from Daylami she also produced the four-time Group 1 winner Dalakhani (by Darshaan), Group 3 winner Dalghar (by Anabaa) and Listed winner and multiple Group 1 placegetter Daymarte (by Caerleon).

12. Sky Song – couldn’t win a race but was placed as a 3YO in France. Apart from producing Pierro’s mother Miss Right Note, Sky Song produced the “Champion Older Horse” in Italy (from 2200m to 2800m) in 2006 – Laverock.

13.  Sadler’s Wells – a champion stallion by another champion stallion – Northern Dancer. Sadler’s Wells won Group 1’s to a distance of 2000m (Eclipse Stakes in England and Irish Champion Stakes in Ireland).

14.  Criquette – won two races in her career, one in England at 7.25 furlongs (1450m) and at 9 furlongs (1800m) in the United Arab Emirates.

So the aforesaid gives us a fully researched overview of the three generation tabulation of Pierro.

The million dollar question then is will Pierro become a “successful” sire at stud? It’s a given that because of his wonderful race record incorporating the fact that he’s a Golden Slipper winner that he’ll get top broodmares to his barn, the point being that the quality of broodmare won’t be an issue.

The above overview proves that Pierro’s sire line is a bit hit and miss, as his father Lonhro is a champion sire, yet his grandfather, Octagonal, is a stud flop. Pierro’s great grandfather Zabeel is a champion stallion.

Pierro’s dam line is also hit and miss, as Pierro is the only black type winner that his mother has produced to date. Pierro’s three-quarter brother Thunder Set (by Reset by Zabeel) can’t get out of sight on a dark night and ran an ordinary sixth at Grafton last Monday at $1.40 as per the above caption. Thunder Set remains a Maiden after 11 starts, so he is what I’d call “legless in the general score of things”. Whilst it’s not a prerequisite to becoming a successful sire that all progeny of the subject stallion’s dam is a black type winner, it may help to eliminate some of the “hit and miss” aspect to a degree, albeit I accept that it certainly didn’t help in Octagonal’s case.

Close up in the pedigree of Pierro are two proven to be failed stallions – Octagonal and Daylami. Will their failure at stud hinder Pierro’s achievements at stud?

Pierro’s grandam Sky Song, even though she’s by champion stallion Sadler’s Wells could only produce one black type winner – Italian champion stayer Laverock (as above).

Lonhro – the sire of Pierro – as at today is not a proven sire of sires, as whilst his sons Denman and O’Lonhro both entered stud in Australia in 2010 they obviously don’t have any runners yet, so we have no lead presently, as to whether Lonhro will be proven with the passage of time to become a notable sire of sires, or an abysmal flop in that regard. Even breed-shaper stallions like champion deceased sire Danehill have left a sad legacy of scores of failed sire sons all over the world, with very few stars among their ranks.

Pierro’s pedigree contains an enormous amount of middle distance/staying blood via Lonhro, Octagonal, Daylami, Sadler’s Wells, a 3 x 4 cross of proven staying influence Mr Prospector and a 3 x 4 cross of Arc de Triomphe winner Mill Reef.

There’s no denying that Pierro has very stout bloodlines but by those bloodlines it would be my considered opinion that his offspring would need time to mature and I’d think his 3YO’s and 4Y0’s would be better than his 2YO’s. Knowing the scant mentality of Australian owners, on the balance of probability, the progeny of Pierro probably won’t be given the necessary time to mature before they are raced, so I’d think that in his life at stud, Pierro will struggle to achieve 60% winners-to-runners and 5% stakeswinners-to-runners.

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