All Too Hard on the up as Vinery announce 2022 fees
Those behind Vinery Stud, a farm which has achieved significant racetrack and sales ring success in recent years, are optimistic about what lies ahead for the Hunter Valley nursery after confirming an unchanged seven-stallion roster for the 2022 breeding season.
Dual Group 1 winner Ole Kirk (Written Tycoon) remains at an unchanged fee of $55,000 (all fees inc GST) as he heads into his second season at stud while All Too Hard (Casino Prince) ($38,500) and Star Turn (Star Witness) ($27,500) have been rewarded with increases on the back of a strong past 12 months.
Coolmore Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Exceedance (Exceed And Excel), whose first weanlings will hit the sales next month, remains at $33,000 while Headwater (Exceed And Excel) ($16,500), Press Statement (Hinchinbrook) ($8,800) and Casino Prince (Flying Spur) ($5,500) round out the Vinery roster.
Ole Kirk (pictured above), who was trained by Michael, Wayne and John Hawkes to win a Talindert Stakes (Listed, 1100m), the Golden Rose (Gr 1, 1400m) and Caulfield Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m), covered 170 mares in his maiden season at stud.
“He was a great inclusion for us last year as he covers everything: he’s very good looking, he’s by a champion sire in Written Tycoon, out of a sister to Black Caviar, and out of a half-sister to All Too Hard who is doing a great job at stud and he was a great racehorse,” Vinery Stud’s bloodstock manager Adam White told ANZ Bloodstock News yesterday.
“He was a stakes winner at two on debut, Group 1-placed as a two-year-old (in the Inglis Sires’) and he was an exceptional three-year-old, being a dual Group 1 winner. He covered a lovely book of mares last year, he proved very fertile and he’s Danehill-free, so he’s a good option for breeders moving forward.”
White pointed to rival stallion Russian Revolution, Australia’s current leading first season sire, as an example of breeders who can be rewarded in the sales ring by backing stallions in their second year.
“He’s got a great ownership group behind him, which is a huge advantage, and we’re sending him some lovely mares again,” he said.
“When you’ve got breeders like Rick Jamieson involved, it is a big tick for the horse. He has been given every chance and we’re going to ensure that continues in his first few seasons.”
White and Vinery also have high hopes for Exceedance, a sprinter with a blistering turn of foot who defeated Bivouac (Exceed And Excel) twice at the highest level, after covering 142 mares in his first year and 155 mares in his second season at stud.
“We have been over the moon with his foals here at Vinery, they’re athletic, they’ve got great scope and the feedback we’ve got from elsewhere is pretty much in line with that,” he said.
“He’s by a world class stallion, he’s from a very good producing mare in Bonnie Mac, who has produced three stakes winners (Oxley Road and Mac ‘N’ Cheese) and he won a stallion-making race in the Coolmore.”
Exceedance’s first foals have also earned the endorsement of breeders such as Sledmere’s Royston Murphy, Erinvale Thoroughbreds’ John Kenneally and Cannon Hayes Stud’s Dave Morrissey.
Rosemont Stud’s Ryan McEvoy is also a fan of the foals Exceedance has on the ground at the Victorian farm.
“We sent seven mares to Exceedance and the filly from Miss Toorak Toff is as good a foal as you could want,” McEvoy said.
“His filly out of our ‘Vinnie’ mare Bim Bam Boom looks a very sharp type, too.”
Star Turn, the sire of promising three-year-old stakes-performers Me Me Lagarde, Startantes and New Zealand-trained La Bella Beals, has seen his popularity rise, covering a career-high 176 mares last year, his fifth at stud.
“Star Turn did exceptionally well with his first crop. It took Capitalist, who had good numbers under his belt, to beat him in that first season sires’ title by individual winners and he only beat him by one in the end,” White said.
“They’re getting to the racetrack, they’re winning races and you get a good stakes performer. Startantes was narrowly beaten in the Group 1 Surround Stakes in the autumn and she is heading to the Group 1 Stradbroke and Tatt’s Tiara during the Brisbane winter carnival.
“The Star Turns get up and go early, so he is a good option to be using for those young mares, to get them up and running in their first couple of foals at a reasonable fee and they sell well in the market.”
Importantly, Star Turn also has the Richard Gibson-trained three-year-old Cordyceps Six on the way to stakes level in Hong Kong to add to his appeal.
With a roster of young and unproven stallions, All Too Hard – the sire of three-time Group 1-winning mare Forbidden Love and Hong Kong sprinter Wellington, who is vying for back-to-back Chairman’s Sprint Prizes (Gr 1, 1200m) on Sunday – plays an integral part for Vinery.
He also, according to White, remains as a “value stallion” with his yearlings selling for up to $320,000 this year, even with his slight rise in fee from $33,000 to $38,500 this year.
“He’s had a terrific year again with three Group 1 winners in this racing season. Forbidden Love has gone to another level this year compared to what she did last season, Behemoth is a great advertisement for him and is there year-in, year-out and he’s got one of, if not the best, sprinter in Hong Kong at the moment,” he said.
“He has also got some promising young stock over there in Hong Kong, which is quite important from our markets and our yearlings going forward. He had a great time at the yearling sales this year and I think that will continue.”
White also sees roster mate Press Statement in a similar way to All Too Hard, while he believes Headwater remains underrated with his exploits.
“Headwater is only a young stallion. To think you can breed to a son of Exceed And Excel, who was a leading first season sire by winners and back that up to be a champion second season stallion by earnings, at $15,000 (plus GST) makes him very affordable and you can get a terrific result in the sale ring with him,” he said.
On Press Statement, he said: “He’s ticking along pretty well. He reminds me a little of All Too Hard. They’re both Caulfield Guineas winners and, although Press Statement was a Group 1-winning two-year-old, they’re generally not get-up-and-run two-year-olds and that’s what All Too Hard went through in the early stages of his career.
“Press Statement’s got the numbers underneath him where he could do a similar sort of job and get a bit of a run on.”
White is confident about the future of the Vinery roster after “a lot of time and effort”.
“We’ve got a proven horse like All Too Hard doing the job and then we’ve got a couple of nice young horses in Star Turn and Headwater who are in the early stages of their career and then two really promising horses like Exceedance and Ole Kirk coming through as well,” he said.
“The roster is gathering momentum and we’re pleased with the horses that we’ve got. The sales have been terrific this year, prize-money hasn’t taken a backward step and, although breeders have had a good year in the sale ring, we are mindful that they can still get a win and I think our roster reflects that very well.”