Pierro’s Pierata takes prime position at Aquis Farm
Pierata (Pierro) is likely to have the honour as Australia’s highest-priced first season sire this year, but Aquis Farm’s Tony Williams believes the Group 1-winning sprinter deserves the accolade as the three-state operation’s best-credentialled stallion in the stud’s short history.
One of 15 stallions set to be spread across Aquis Farm’s Murrurundi, Canungra and Seymour properties, the Greg Hickman-trained All Aged Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) -winning Pierata has had his fee set at $44,000 (all fees inclusive of GST).
Aquis Farm will also stand ATC Breeders’ Plate (Gr 3, 1000m) and BRC Champagne Classic (Gr 2, 1200m) winner Dubious (Not A Single Doubt) at its Queensland stud at Canungra this year at a fee of $13,750.
In assessing Pierata’s stud credentials, chief executive Tony “Tubba” Williams was effusive in his praise of the rising six-year-old and is confident that he is the sire who will help “Aquis Farm elevate itself in the stallion world and in the industry”.
“He is the highlight of what the farm has stood at stud so far and he has captured the imagination of the racing public and all breeders,” Williams told ANZ Bloodstock News yesterday.
“He displays all the qualities that breeders out there need and what we need at the farm. He is going to complement our broodmare band so well and we will be supporting him big-time because we see him as our premium stallion, our premium product.
Williams suggested that Pierro (Lonhro) was a champion sire in waiting and the fact that Pierata was a juvenile-winning sprinting son made his commercial appeal significant.
“Physically, he is as good as there is from that sire line and he is probably the true sprinter which carries that Pierro/Lonhro/Zabeel sireline,” he said.
“In this day and age, most stallions are retired at three or four and very few get to race at five and he is retiring as sound as the first time he went to the races which is another important factor that breeders need.
“He defeated 39 individual Group 1 winners, which is an amazing feat in itself, and for me in my first year at the farm I couldn’t be more excited to have a horse like this.”
Darley’s shuttling duo of Too Darn Hot (Dubawi) and Blue Point (Shamardal) will also stand for the same figure as Pierata at $44,000 in their first southern hemisphere seasons later this year.
Pierata heads the Hunter Valley roster, which has first crop two-year-olds by Divine Prophet (Choisir) set to race next season, while Williams is upbeat about the prospects of fellow unproven sires on the Aquis Farm NSW roster, such as Invader (Snitzel) and Santos (I Am Invincible).
Aquis Farm’s Queensland operation was dealt a blow when promising young stallion Spill The Beans (Snitzel), now the sire of eight first crop winners, died last November, but Williams hopes Magic Millions 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m) runner-up Dubious can go some way to filling the gap left by his premature death.
“Dubious is what I’d call the old-style Aussie two-year-old. He was a tough, fast Breeders’ Plate-winning two-year-old. He was a winner in Queensland as a two-year-old and the Breeders’ Plate is becoming a real stallions’ race and he’s got all the qualities that really complement the Queensland broodmare band.
“He’s got strength, he’s got good bone and he’s got real speed. He’s got a great temperament and Queensland predominantly have always had those fast stallions at stud and he will certainly do well in Queensland.”
Joining Dubious on the Queensland roster is the relocated Duporth (Red Ransom), the sire of three-time Group 1 winner Hey Doc, after standing for the past three years at Kooringal Stud in NSW.
The effects of Covid-19 on global economies has been enormous in recent months and, like all studs, Aquis Farm was also factoring in the financial impact of the pandemic when setting service fees for its stallion roster.
Williams said: “Make no mistake, we’ve been strategic in managing our fees. We’ve reflected what the market is telling us they need. I feel that we have got it pretty right across the board and Queensland breeders had a harder year (than most) with the March sale being the first sale probably being really affected (by Covid-19).
“Out there, there’s a lot of people that probably haven’t had the results they were hoping for this year due to the economic climate and Covid-19. We hope we can work with them and tailor to them to keep everyone viable including Aquis.”
Meanwhile, Lean Mean Machine (Zoustar) remains Aquis Farm’s sole stallion on its Victorian roster after Siege Of Quebec (Fastnet Rock) was withdrawn from service early last season.
Williams said Victoria was a significant part of Aquis Farm’s long-term future but was adamant that the organisation had to find the right stallions for that market.
“I could name a dozen colts we have in the racing team at the moment who will eventually go to stud and I am confident we can certainly add to Victoria,” he said,
“Lean Mean Machine did very well there in his first season. Obviously, it would be nice to have a second or a third stallion there but we’re not just going to send something there for the sake of it.
“With Written Tycoon leaving and going to Arrowfield, Victoria is crying out for the right stallions and we hope long-term that we can have a stallion roster in Victoria that is worthy of Victorian broodmares.”
Aquis Farm service fees
2020 2019
NSW
Pierata $44,000 new
Divine Prophet $22,000 unchanged
Invader $22,000 $27,500
Brave Smash $19,250 $22,000
Santos $13,200 $16,500
Spieth $11,000 $16,500
Jukebox $8,800 $11,000
Queensland
Dubious $13,200 new
Kiss And Make Up $8,800 $11,000
The Mission $8,800 $13,200
Performer $6,600 $8,800
Husson $5,500 $9,900
Duporth $4,400 $8,800
Kobayashi $3,300 $4,400
Victoria
Lean Mean Machine $13,200 $17,600
*all fees inclusive of GST