In quite the coup for Yulong, they have secured Pierata only months away from his first potential runners making their racecourse debuts later this year.
Whilst Yulong have yet to announce a 2023 fee for Pierata, he covered a total of 451 mares in his three years with Aquis, all at a fee of $44,000 (inc GST).
Yulong’s Chief Operating Officer Sam Fairgray said he’s highly anticipating a big season from his first crop, not least after they made a great impression at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale in January, where his progeny averaged 5.6 times his initial service fee at $247,500.
Pierata | Standing at Yulong
“He’s a stunning individual himself and we have seen him produce beautiful types in a similar mold that have been picked up by all the top trainers,” said Fairgray.
His best result at that sale was the first foal from Loving Gaby, a dual Group 1 winner. A filly, she sold to the mare’s former trainers Ciaron Maher and David Eustace for $800,000. Other standout results came by way of a colt picked up by Guy Mulcaster for $650,000 and another by Justin Bahen for $550,000.
Unusually consistent
Trained by Greg Hickman, Pierata was a metropolitan winner as a 2-year-old, placing in the G2 Sires’ Produce S. After adding a Group 3 to his CV shortly after resuming as a 3-year-old, he went on to finish second in the G1 Randwick Guineas.
However, he really came of age as a 4-year-old when, two starts after narrowly missing out in the G1 The Galaxy H. to the Champion sprinter Nature Strip (Nicconi), he won the G1 All-Aged S.
The G1 All Aged S. has a history of producing stallions in recent editions such as the Widden Stud-based Trapeze Artist and All Too Hard who stands at Vinery Stud, while the Group 1-producing sire Tivaci who stands at Waikato Stud was also a winner of the Randwick feature. Earlier on the honour roll you can find breed defining names such as Flying Spur and for the pedigree enthusiast's Yattendon.
Returning as a 5-year-old, he continued valiantly at the top level, and was denied back-to-back All-Aged S. only by Tofane (NZ) (Ocean Park {NZ}) in the same season that he beat Trekking (Street Cry {Ire}) in the $1 million Redzel S.
In a sensational demonstration of his incredible speed, Pierata won the G3 Sydney S. in a quicker time than Redzel’s (Snitzel) $10 million The Everest victory over the same distance, the next race on the card that day.
Pierata mixed it with some of the world’s highest-rated sprinters of recent years and the best of his generation throughout his career, including The Everest winner's Redzel and Classique Legend (Not A Single Doubt), the multiple Group 1-winning sprinters Santa Ana Lane (Lope De Vega {Ire}), Trapeze Artist and Bivouac, and the star colts' Brutal and Exceedance.
Overall, Pierata raced 26 times for nine victories, a remarkable career which Fairgray marked as unusually consistent, especially for a stallion prospect.
“Pierata finished outside the top five just twice in his career,” Fairgray said.
“Few stallions these days have such complete racing campaigns as Pierata, and throughout his career he showed his incredible soundness, brilliance and raw talent - all qualities that put him on track for success as a stallion.
“To acquire him at this point in his career, just months away from his first runners, is incredibly exciting for both Yulong and the Victorian industry. We’ve seen how well-received his first yearlings were at the sales this year, and the early reports from trainers are full of promise.”
“To acquire him (Pierata) at this point in his career, just months away from his first runners, is incredibly exciting... We’ve seen how well-received his first yearlings were at the sales this year, and the early reports from trainers are full of promise.” - Sam Fairgray
Standing first in the Hunter Valley for his debut season, Pierata covered 169 mares before moving to Queensland where he covered 143 and 139 in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
“From a practical level, the investment made into his second- and third-year mares means the momentum will keep going over the next couple of years, and we’re looking forward to planning matings for Pierata to some of our elite broodmares at Yulong,” Fairgray added.