“When he won at Guineas [November 2022], he was 470kgs but when I weighed him this week, he is now 531kgs,” Weatherley said.
“He has really grown up in Australia and his form over there proved how good he is.
Weatherley said Pier is back for this race on Saturday, the Ōtaki-Māori Mile at Ellerslie on February 21 and the Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes on March 7 “and then we will see if he heads back to Australia”.
Pier went through a muddling phase of form caused by physical issues after his Guineas win and it would have been easy to doubt whether he would live up to his undoubted early potential.
But he has actually developed into even a better horse than many here would have expected with a series of elite level performances behind the biggest names in Australian racing.
After returning to the winner’s circle in a listed race at Eagle Farm last June, he ran third and then fifth (in the Epsom) to unbeaten superstar Autumn Glow in Sydney, before finishing third to Ceolwulf and Mr Brightside in the A$5 million King Charles Stakes at Randwick.
Pier then headed to Victoria, where he finished fourth to the now-retired queen of Australian racing in Via Sistina, a form line which makes him clearly the best-performed New Zealand-trained horse in Australia in the last two years.
While he is talented enough to win Saturday’s sprint, is he forward enough?
“We gave him a trial here [Matamata] two weeks ago and he was only there for a day out but was really good in third and then had a strong exhibition gallop at Te Rapa last week, so he is ready,” Weatherley said.
“I see we have barrier 3 now, which is almost exactly what I would have wanted, so I think he can go a huge race.”
The 1400m Group 1 is shaping as one of the best domestic races of the season, with Here To Shock joined by stablemate Arkansaw Kid after his second in the Railway, local star First Five fresh off winning the Telegraph, Savaglee, three-time Group 1 winner Provence and Telegraph favourite Tomodachi.
The most notable absentee is Grail Seeker, who has a stone bruise and will instead be aimed at next week’s Lisa Chittick Champagne Stakes at Matamata.
Here To Shock and Pier have been opened as $3.70 equal-favourites ahead of Savaglee and Arkansaw Kid at $6, with First Five the market shock, being out at $13.
The $700,000 Herbie Dyke has seen favourite Kingswood draw barrier 1 and open at $2.50 with the TAB over fellow Australian raider Knobelas, who is the $3.60 second-favourite from right next door in barrier 2.
Legends Day
What: Waikato racing’s most stacked meeting of the season.
Where: Te Rapa, Hamilton
When: Saturday, first race 12.40pm
Highlights: $700,000 Herbie Dyke Stakes, $500,000 BCD Group Sprint, $350,000 Sir Patrick Hogan Karapiro Classic, $275,000 Legacy Lodge Waikato Guineas, $275,000 Ellis Classic.
Special feature: Retired greats Mufhasa, Xcellent, Sir Slick, Start Wondering, Royal Performer, True Enough, Waisake, Catalyst and champion jumper Tallyho Twinkletoe to parade on track.
Can I go: Yes, and entry is free.
Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald’s Racing Editor in 1995 and covers the world’s biggest horse racing carnivals.
