Pierro - a pictorial history

I am remiss in posting images of the great colt Pierro winning the G1 Canterbury Stakes last Saturday at Rosehill Gardens.  It's actually the first time I've photographed this wonderful colt winning since he won the G1 AJC Sires Produce Stakes.  Since that race the near black colt won the G1 Champagne Stakes on the same day that I was in Adelaide photographing The Famous Pony Black Caviar winning the G1 Robert Sangster Stakes.  It was a distinct disadvantage to have these two important race dates clashing, as More Joyous and Atlantic Jewel also won that day at Royal Randwick.  But those regular readers of this Blog and followers and friends of mine will already know that my heart belongs to the Famous Pony, and where she goes, I go.

Pierro also won the Stan Fox and the Bill Stutt Stakes last spring, but I wasn't on track for either of those races.  He then ran a courageous 2nd to the other champion colt All Too Hard (half brother to the Famous Pony) in the Caulfield Guineas and 3rd in the Cox Plate.  He resumed in the Hobartville Stakes when I was in Melbourne for the Australian Guineas with a narrow but determined win on a very heavy track before he tackled the Canterbury Stakes 2nd up.

I've also photographed Pierro's great sire Lonhro both on the racetrack and at Darley at stud, and his famous grandsire Octagonal, again, on the racetrack and at stud.  And as a further bonus, I photographed Pierro's dam, a lovely grey mare called Miss Right Note, with her gorgeous little Street Cry filly (again I've photographed Street Cry as a stallion) at Darley's Woodlands Stud in Denman late last September.  So again, I have real pleasure in seeing the family history unfolding pictorially before me.  Indeed, the Image IS everything...................

Pierro runs clear in the G1 Canterbury Stakes, defeating champion mare and another of my darlings in More Joyous.  "Sunshine on a rainy day, makes my soul, makes my soul, trip, trip, trip away".  Christine Anu.  I always liked the song, and as the field swung for home I could see the sun breaking through even though it was still visibly raining, and it made my heart race to see if the resultant images were as pretty as what my eye saw through the lens.



Magic Millions have just used this image in a lovely and dynamic ad.
Pierro's little sister, by champion stallion Street Cry (sire of Zenyatta, Street Sense, Shocking and Whobegotyou)
Pierro's dam, Miss Right Note, with her Street Cry filly.  September 2012.

Pierro at Randwick last July.  The clues were there for me to see last July.
Pierro winning the G1 AJC Sires Stakes

Lonhro, sporting the famous Darely blue and white stallion browband.  I think I'd almost sell my soul to the devil for one of these bridles....




It's autumn, and the Queen Elizabeth Stakes will be run in about 4 weeks time.  It's hard to believe that it is 10 years since I took this image, using a wonderful 400mm f2.8 lens loaned to me by Nikon Professional Services.

Octagonal in 1997 at Woodlands

Even further back.. Octagonal wins the WS Cox Plate in 1995.

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