Studs will begin the battle to secure brilliant colt Pierro (Lonhro – Miss Right Note, by Daylami) after connections announced his retirement in the wake of his brave second in Saturday’s Group 1 Doncaster Mile at Randwick.

Pierro attempted to set a weight carrying record for a three-year-old in the Doncaster Mile but the combination of heavy ground and the lighter-weighted colt Sacred Falls (O’Reilly – Iguazu’s Girl, by Redoute’s Choice) consigned him to his first defeat in Sydney.

Pierro lost no admirers with his gutsy performance to finish three-quarters of a length from the winner but owners Greg and Donna Kolivos decided the son of Lonhro (Octagonal – Shadea, by Straight Strike) has done enough in the racing phase of his career.

“His run in the Doncaster was fantastic, he lost no admirers, he had to carry 57kg on a really heavy track and wasn’t disgraced,” Greg Kolivos told the Racing Network.

“We thought about the Queen Elizabeth but he had a tough run yesterday and it is only seven days away.

“He has nothing left to prove and we feel the timing is right to retire him.

“He has won five Group 1s, he could have come back and won more next season and even more after that but there comes a time when you say a horse has done enough.”

Kolivos said Pierro’s owners had not decided on a stud at which the rising four-year-old would begin his stud career but would consider offers for the horse in the coming weeks.

Pierro won five Group 1 races in his 14-start career, including the Golden Slipper, ATC Sires’ Produce and Champagne Stakes as a two-year-old.

Pierro was a $230,000 purchase at the 2011 Gold Coast Magic Millions Yearling Sale but returned more than $4.5 million in stakes to connections.

Lonhro’s (Octagonal – Shadea, by Straight Strike) wonderful son Pierro (Lonhro – Miss Right Note, by Daylami) earned a lofty accolade from his trainer Gai Waterhouse after his win in Saturday’s Group 1 George Ryder Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill.

Pierro had just prevailed in a duel with 10-time Group 1 winner (King) Mufhasa (Pentire – Sheila Cheval, by Mi Preferido) to win the Ryder Stakes by a neck after racing wide for entire trip but Waterhouse thought enough of the performance to declare him superior to any horse in the previous half-century.

“He’s just so exciting isn’t he?” Waterhouse said. “He’s the best horse we’ve seen in Australia for 50 years.

“He ticks every box. Who says about Golden Slipper horses not training on? Ha ha.”

Pierro’s rider Nash Rawiller did not panic despite the star colt being caught in an awkward position early in the race to produce some minor worries for Waterhouse but she praised the way the top rider thought the situation through at the 1000 metres.

“In trotting terms, he was caught in the death,” Waterhouse said. “I thought, “oh my gosh, he couldn’t be in a worse position” and it was a muddling run race.

“All of a sudden Nash thought, ‘I’m going nowhere’ and he just dropped him back half a length and gave him time to give him a bit of a breather.”

The slow track dulled Pierro’s turn of foot but the star three-year-old worked home over the top of the (King) Mufhasa, who performed admirably at his first start since throat surgery.

Shoot Out (High Chaparral – Pentamerous, by Pentire) finished well late to take third, continuing his consistent autumn campaign.

The George Ryder Stakes was Pierro’s fifth Group 1 win and his 10^th straight win in Sydney to preserve the colt’s unbeaten record in his home city, almost a year to the day since he beat a smart field to win the Group 1 Golden Slipper.

It’s hard to believe Saturday’s Canterbury Classic (1300m) was Pierro’s (Lonhro – Miss Right Note, by Daylami) first Group 1 win for almost 11 months.

Pierro won the Sydney juvenile triple crown with the last of the victories coming in the Group 1 Champagne Stakes (1600m) at Randwick in April 2013 but raced only twice at the top level in his spring three-year-old campaign.

The Group 3 Run To The Rose (1200m) and Group 2 Stutt Stakes (1600m) provided Pierro with his two spring successes but the brilliant colt suffered his only two defeats in Melbourne in the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas (1600m) and Cox Plate (2040m).

Pierro on the Group 2 Hobartville Stakes (1400m) narrowly when resuming on March 2 but the son of Darley stallion Lonhro (Octagonal – Shadea, by Straight Strike) raced without blinkers first-up.

His trainer Gai Waterhouse decided Pierro would benefit from the reintroduction of blinkers for his clash with Tulloch Lodge’s other star More Joyous (More Than Ready – Sunday Joy, by Sunday Silence) in the Canterbury Stakes, which carried Group 1 status for the first time.

Waterhouse said choosing between her two outstanding performers was “like asking a mother to choose between her children, you love them both equally” but Pierro asserted his dominance over More Joyous in thrilling fashion.

Jim Cassidy positioned Pierro near the speed with More Joyous behind before a sharp turn of acceleration left him two lengths clear of the grand mare with 200 metres to travel, a break More Joyous could not bridge under weight-for-age conditions but she stuck to her task behind Sydney’s new star.

Pierro stretched his record to 10 wins from 10 starts in Sydney with his fourth Group 1 win, which sent the normally bubbly Waterhouse into overdrive.

“What an outstanding, outstanding colt,” she said. “Jimmy positioned him perfectly and he dug so deep. He had taken off about 2-1/2 (furlongs – 500m) from home.

“Nothing can be taken away from the mare (More Joyous) because she just went tenaciously to the post but he was just too brilliant on the day.”

More Joyous is likely to have her next outing in the Group I Queen Of Turf Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill on Golden Slipper day while Pierro will start as a short-priced favourite in the Group I George Ryder Stakes, also on April 6.

Lonhro (Octagonal – Shadea, by Straight Strike) filly Lonhspresso (Lonhro – As Simple As That, by Grand Lodge) continued her rapid rise with her strong win in the Group 2 Euclase Classic (1200M) at Morphettville.

Lonhspresso won her maiden at Ballarat three starts back but is now a Group 2 winner after the Darren Weir-trained three-year-old hung on to beat the charging Essay Raider (Bernardini – Elegant Eagle, by Zabeel).

Dubawi (Dubai Millennium – Zomaradah, by Deploy) filly Shamal Wind (Dubawi – Firemaid, by Machiavellian) completed a trifecta for Darley stallions when she battled into third.

Lonhspresso became the 34^th stakes winner for Lonhro with her success but her trainer Darren Weir said she had finished her three-year-old season in style.

“She deserves a rest now and we won’t be taxing her any more and we’ll bring her back for the spring,” Weir told Sky Racing World.

“She showed a few little signs that this would be about the end of her so we’ll give her a well-earned rest.

“She’s still got plenty of improvement in her. She’s still an immature sort of horse and she’s not completely there action-wise.”

Lonhspresso is the first stakes winner out of the Grand Lodge mare As Simple As That (Grand Lodge – Bridget’s Daughter, by Best Western), who is a half-sister to the Group 3 winner Millennium Diamond (Royal Academy – Bridget’s Daughter, by Best Western).

Australian Thoroughbred Bloodstock paid $80,000 for Lonhspresso at the 2010 Inglis Weanling and Broodmare Sale.

Pierro (Lonhro – Miss Right Note, by Daylami) survived a test of his invincibility before the Lonhro (Octagonal – Shadea, by Straight Strike) colt remained unbeaten in his home city in Saturday’s Group 2 Hobartville Stakes (1400m) at Rosehill.

Pierro’s only two defeats were in the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas (1600m) and Cox Plate (2040m) during the 2012 Melbourne spring carnival but the star galloper started his potentially lucrative Sydney autumn campaign with a thorough test in the $200,000 event.

Regular partner Nash Rawiller positioned Pierro in fourth spot before the classy performer improved strongly in the heavy conditions to be within striking distance of the leaders early in the straight.

Pierro hit the front with 200 metres to travel before Rebel Dane made a serious bid for victory inside the final furlong. However, last season’s two-year-old triple crown winner’s quality got him over the line to score his ninth win from 11 starts.

“He got very tired,” Rawiller said. “Maybe I should have waited another 100 (metres) before I let him go. He was running on empty at the 50 and I thought the other horse would get him but he dug deep.”

Pierro’s trainer Gai Waterhouse was unconcerned with the narrow margin, adding Pierro would improve significantly as he gains fitness and the stable adds gear to the outstanding racehorse.

“He was at his most vulnerable today first-up without the blinkers,” she said. “You don’t have to win by much.”

Waterhouse will devise the rest of Pierro’s campaign in the coming weeks but races such as the Group 1 George Ryder Stakes and Group 1 Doncaster Mile are realistic targets for the exciting thoroughbred.

Lonhro (Octagonal – Shadea, by Straight Strike) gelding Skytrain (Lonhro – Que Sera Sera, by Luskin Star) picked up his second stakes victory when a convincing winner of the Listed Canterbury Classic (1100m).

Skytrain was the second string Darley runner behind Sessions (Lonhro – Seances, by Canny Lad) but an inflamed testicle forced Peter Snowden to withdraw the three-year-old from the $100,000 feature.

Christian Reith steered Skytrain to his eighth win from 30 starts in the event with Uate (Ad Valorem – Long Walk, by Over) completing a quinella for Darley sires.

“Scratching (Sessions) was a hard decision to make but in the end we had no decision. It was made for us,” trainer Peter Snowden said.

“But it’s great to have a consolation horse like Skytrain going into the race.

“He’s had a few tags from a few people.

“He’s been costly to punters and I don’t blame them for giving him a bagging at times.

“He was on song tonight and it was a brilliant ride. He just smothered him back and got the gaps.”