Progressive Pierro colt Shangri La Boy is a very different horse to his older half-brother Storm Boy and while that Group winning colt is covering his first book of mares at Coolmore this spring, this fellow is on his way with an impressive maiden win at Rosehill on Wednesday.
Trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott as was his famous sibling, Shangri La Boy has taken a little longer to come to hand and was third on debut at Canterbury last month.
Stepped up to 1400m for this assignment and given a bold front running ride by Adam Hyeronimus, Shangri La Boy relished the task, controlling the race and kicking away down the running to win in dominant style by more than two lengths.
Adrian Bott believes there is more to come for Shangri La Boy as he gets out in trip.
“He's got a lot of ability and is obviously a well-bred colt although very different to his brother,” Bott said.
“He's going to keep improving as we get out over further and we're just beginning to scratch the surface with his ability.
“He went down as favourite in his first up run, but I think he had some genuine excuses there and today he's gotten better conditions to suit and so obviously we saw more of his ability today and I think we're going to continue to see that going forward.”
Adam Hyeronimus partnered Storm Boy to victory in the Magic Millions 2YO Classic and several other Group races and is well placed to compare Shangri La Boy to his half-brother.
“I was very frustrated after the last start because I thought it was a sit and steer job. I thought he'd lead and win, but we weren't able to get that and I had revved him to get there, so it took a little bit for him to come back to me,” he said.
“I was very confident coming here today. He's a nice horse and it took a while to put it together last prep, but the improvement he's made this prep has been fantastic, and there's no reason why he can't keep doing it from now.
“Storm Boy was a beautiful horse and it’s hard to find horses that look like him, but this colt is by Pierro and has his own good attributes.
“I like the way he handles himself. He's so casual, he's so relaxed. Nothing ever bothers him and I'm sure he'll build off the back of today's win.”
A $375,000 Magic Millions purchase from Coolmore as agent for Morning Rise for Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott/Kestrel Thoroughbreds, Shangri La Boy is the second foal and second winner from Pelican, a winning Fastnet Rock daughter of NZ Horse of the Year and seven time Group I winner Seachange.
Pelican has a two year-old filly by St Mark’s Basilica (Fr), a yearling filly by Justify (USA) and was covered last spring by Wootton Bassett (GB).
Shangri La Boy is one of 31 winners so far this season for Pierro, who is sitting in tenth spot on the General Sires List by earnings and is exceptional value at Coolmore this spring at a fee of $33,000
