Pier has bright future after powerful win in Wayne Wilseon at Eagle Farm
Exciting Kiwi galloper Pier was stranded two spots outside the Group 1 Stradbroke field, but his trainer Darryn Weatherley felt he could have given the race a mighty shake.
And on the evidence of the gelding's thumping win when scoring the consolation prize of the Listed Wayne Wilson (1600m) at Eagle Farm, it was hard to disagree.
Had five-year-old Pier nailed a Stradbroke start, he would have carried just 51kg.
Pier's hopes of gaining a slot in the Stradbroke always appeared forlorn, fourth emergency and still two off the field even after there were a pair of scratchings.
But punters didn't miss him in the Wayne Wilson, backing him strongly from $3.10 to $2.60 and he didn't let them down as he thumped his opposition by three lengths.
Pier's racing journey hasn't been straightforward, from the exhilarating moment of winning the Group 1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas in 2022, to devastating lows of many injury setbacks.
Leading Australian owner Ozzie Kheir looks to have another nice horse on his hands.
Pier with a dominant win in the Listed Wayne Wilson at Eagle Farm! 🚀 @Brown_ethan8 pic.twitter.com/Kbm3BlrUWH
â€' SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 14, 2025
'I truly believe he would have been a force to be reckoned with in the Straddie, but maybe next year,' Weatherley, who trains in partnership with his daughter Briar, said.
'I would like to spell him here for a month then have a crack at the first Group 1 in New Zealand and the hopefully to Melbourne in the spring.'
Pier had warmed up for Saturday's assignment with a flashing light run in the Group 3 BRC Sprint when flashing home from last to finish third.
'Last start he ran a blinder, but he drew a lot more favourably today,' jockey Ethan Brown said.
'It is a bloody long straight but I was on a well prepared, fit horse who carried me through.'
In the opening race on Stradbroke day, the Group 3 Gunsynd Classic (1600m), Michael Freedman 's three-year-old filly Just Feelin' Lucky ($5) led them a merry dance.
� Just Feelin' Lucky leads all the way to win the opener at Eagle Farm! @MFreedmanRacing | @TommyBerry21 pic.twitter.com/UIt7DmV7Qw
â€' SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 14, 2025
The young daughter of US champion Justify wasn't for catching and justified Freedman's decision to give her a shot at a valuable Group race.
The filly cost just $80,000 as a yearling but is now worth much more than that and put two wins on the bounce after scoring a midweek race in Sydney at her previous start.
'These Justifys are free-rolling and I had a good chat to Tommy Berry before the race and the idea was to dictate the race from the front and it ended up perfect,' Freedman said.
'It is getting to the back end of the racing season, she's going to turn four pretty soon, so we thought we'd go and have a crack at some black type.
'She's quite a valuable filly now.'
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Longley highlighted Giddey's halfcourt buzzerbeater shot over the outstretched hands of LA Lakers stars LeBron James and Luka Doncic as potentially a pivotal moment in the point guard's career. 'I think that shot all by itself drew so much attention to the Bulls,' Longley said. 'For me, it was quite a poignant shot. 'I grew up with his dad playing basketball on national team and living in the Institute of Sport, and even still when I'm in Melbourne, I'm hanging out with his dad. 'So there's the Giddey connection. There's the Bulls connection. There's an Australian over there doing it the NBA. 'Then there's the fact it's over LeBron and Doncic — I particularly like the fact it's over the Lakers. It's just such a great shot. 'With Josh, I hope that they build the right pieces with him and around him. And I do believe in his appetite for it. 'I think he is supremely motivated by things more than money. He is deeply competitive.' The Lane Violation documentary follows the changing relationship between the only two Australian seven-footers to truly dominate in the NBA. When he was taken with the No. 1 pick by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2005, Bogut famously said he was not as slow as Longley and more athletic and competitive. Those comments didn't go down with well with Longley, who told Bogut to 'pull his head in' at the time. The towering centres went on to work together at the Australian Boomers and with the Sydney Kings, where Bogut has moved into an assistant coaching role.
