Five-time Group 1 winner gets off the mark as a stallion

Outstanding five-time Group 1 winner Pierro was represented by his first winner as a sire on Saturday when daughter Tulip scored on debut over 5f at Moonee Valley in Australia as a well-backed favourite.

Tulip, trained by Tom Dabernig in partnership with David and Ben Hayes, displayed a fine turn of foot to come from last to first with a wide run and score by one and three-quarter lengths.

"I thought it was an exciting win to come from last at the Valley," Dabernig said. "You can see she's got a fantastic action and I'm very excited for the stallion Pierro.

"This is his first winner but we've got half a dozen of them and they all look pretty smart."

Tulip is out of the Group 3-winning Rock Of Gibraltar mare Musidora and is a half-sister to Group 3 scorer Sacred Eye.

She was a NZ$400,000 New Zealand Bloodstock Premier sale purchase by BBA Ireland and Lindsay Park Racing and carries the Coolmore dark blue silks.

Tulip will be pointed towards the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes in February and is set to take in a trial race for it beforehand.

Pierro, a son of Lonhro, won the Golden Slipper, Inglis Sires Produce Stakes and Champagne Stakes at two and landed two more Group 1s - the Canterbury Stakes and George Ryder Stakes - at three.

He stood at Coolmore Australia this season at a fee of A$66,000.

Luxbet installed Pierro as even-money favourite to be leading first-season sire in Australia by prize-money in 2016-17.