Darryn and Briar Weatherley are dreaming of Group One glory once again with their star galloper Pier (NZ) (Proisir), who is bound for Queensland after an impressive exhibition gallop at Matamata on Wednesday.
Pier’s journey as an elite racehorse has been far from smooth, from the highs of winning a Gr.1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) as a three-year-old, to the lows of multiple injury lay-offs over the past 18 months.
The Weatherleys have exercised plenty of patience during this time and were very nearly rewarded upon his most-recent return to the races last month, finishing a narrow second to Slipper Island in a strong edition of the Listed City Of Napier Sprint (1200m).
Just over a month later, an attempt at making the Gr.1 Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) field is on the cards for Pier, with his final appearance on home soil receiving a big pass mark from Weatherley’s son, jockey Sam Weatherley.
“I think I’m blowing a little bit more than he (Pier) is,” Sam Weatherley said.
“It’s a heavy track out there and he doesn’t actually mind a bit of cut in the track, it’s good on his joints. I don’t think he could be going much better, he’s dragging me into his work and when he’s going well, that’s what he does.
“He’s the soundest he’s ever been, so we’ve got to strike while the iron’s hot.”
Darryn Weatherley watched on and echoed his son’s comments, adding they had intended the gallop to act virtually as a trial for the gelding.
“I was really happy with the work, being on his home track he was quite above himself and it was a nice day out for him,” Darryn Weatherley said. “It’ll bring him on well for his next assignment, which is what we intended.
“We wanted to give him a nice hit-out here, he’s only had the one run at Wellington and when you’re on your own in an exhibition gallop, you can do as much or as little as you like. It was probably as good as a trial for him today, his times were nice and Sam was pretty bullish, he said he was quite bold in his work which is good going forward.”
New Zealand doesn’t offer direct flights to Queensland, therefore, Weatherley, Pier and stablemate Dark Destroyer (NZ) (Proisir) will depart for Sydney over the weekend, before travelling via float to Brisbane.
“Pier flies out on Sunday morning alongside Dark Destroyer, his first run will be Saturday-week at Doomben in the BRC Sprint (Gr.3, 1350m),” Weatherley said. “That will be his first assignment, and all going well, he goes well enough to secure a spot in the Stradbroke (Gr.1, 1400m).
“We had originally thought about going to the Kingsford-Smith Cup (Gr.1, 1300m), which is a week later, but there was quite a big nomination for that race and he wasn’t guaranteed a run. It’s a long way to fly over and sit on the ballot, so we changed tack, and this race probably looks a better option for him.
“A few of the guns will be running in the Doomben 10,000 (Gr.1, 1200m) on Saturday and then go on to the Kingsford-Smith, and while I know this race will have a strong enough field, it’s probably not quite as strong.
“It also gives us three weeks to the Stradbroke, instead of a two-week gap.”
The Weatherleys have secured the services of Ethan Brown in the BRC Sprint, continuing Brown’s association with part-owner Ozzie Kheir, for whom he rode Kiwi-bred flyer Jimmysstar when collecting two Group Ones this season in Sydney and Melbourne.
Also heading across the Tasman is Dark Destroyer, a Group One winner himself that revived his racing career when narrowly missing the top spot in last Saturday’s Listed Rotorua Cup (2200m).
“It was a huge run because he drew an outside gate, and we elected to ride forward, so he had to do a wee bit early,” Weatherley said.
“I was just really pleased with the way he was willing and wanted to win, that was a big plus for us.”
A trip to Queensland is nothing new to the son of Proisir, who won at Group level during the Brisbane Winter Carnival as a three-year-old.
“His owner, David Archer, has had a lot of success with his horses and he is keen to go to Brisbane,” Weatherley said. “We were keen to take him as well, Sam rode him as a three-year-old over there and won a Rough Habit Plate (Gr.3, 2000m), then ran an unlucky fourth in the Queensland Derby (Gr.1, 2400m).
“If he was to strike a wet track over there, and they have been getting rain, he’s not out of it either. He’s exciting going forward.
“We’re having a look through the races now, there is the Queen Elizabeth (Gr.3, 2400m), but we’ve got options and nothing is set in stone.”