Cheers for Ole as Kirk claims freshman crown
Having wrapped up the Australian first season sires’ premiership and with the ‘fully booked’ signs erected outside his box at Vinery Stud some time ago, Ole Kirk is already starting to shape the nation’s breeding landscape but according to those who know him best, the son of Written Tycoon (Iglesia) bears all the hallmarks of becoming a generational talent.
After unbeaten filly Ole Dancer carried her father’s prize-money bounty past the $3.4 million mark courtesy of her victory in the opener at Caulfield last Saturday, Ole Kirk has built an unassailable lead over his first season rivals with more than $500,000 now separating him from Coolmore’s shuttler Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj) in second place.
Vinery’s flagbearer is therefore assured leading freshman honours by every metric bar individual winners, with his Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m) winning rival Farnan (Not A Single Doubt) currently leading that count by the narrowest of margins (14 to 13) as the clock counts down to the start of the new racing season this Friday.
If recent history has taught anything, however, it’s that landing the first season sires’ crown is no guarantee of future success, with the likes of 2015 winner Rothesay (Fastnet Rock), his successor Love Conquers All (Mossman) and 2020 table topper Spill The Beans (Snitzel) ultimately unable to build on their early precocity in the breeding barn.
But none of that trio produced a stakes winner from their first crop, so it is safe to say that Ole Kirk has already laid firmer foundations with his juveniles O’ Ole, Prestige Forever, Legacy Bound and King Kirk all emulating their sire by adding early black-type to their respective resumés.
Given that we did not see the very best of Ole Kirk until his three-year-old campaign, which was headlined by back-to-back elite-level victories in the Golden Rose (Gr 1, 1400m) and the Caulfield Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) in the spring of 2020, there is every reason to expect that his first crop is only just getting started.
That is certainly the view of Vinery’s Adam White, who assumed the general manager role at the start of the month following the departure of the fabled farm’s founder Peter Orton.
Like everyone at the Scone institution, having witnessed his professionalism at close quarters White holds Ole Kirk in the highest regard and his lofty ambitions have been met, if not exceeded over the past 12 months which he believes justifies an elevated service fee of $99,000 (inc GST) for the upcoming season.
“We obviously had high hopes for Ole Kirk in his first season, but in some respects he probably has exceeded those expectations,” White told ANZ News.
“He was obviously a very talented two-year-old and we know Written Tycoon is establishing a growing reputation as a sire of sires, so with the right mares there was very chance that Ole Kirk would really hit the ground running.
“What probably surprised me the most was how quickly his success came around, with King Kirk winning the Breeders’ Plate at the start of October in Sydney. Then O’ Ole ran second in the Gimcrack and went on to win the Magic Millions 2YO Classic, so he was off and running and managed to maintain that momentum right throughout the season.
“The most exciting part for the whole team will be watching his two-year-olds develop and hopefully take the next step into their three-year-old seasons. Knowing the type of racehorse Ole was, there’s every chance that his juvenile progeny will be even better next season. And if you look at the female side of his family, obviously his mother is a full-sister to Black Caviar who just got better with age, and her half-brother All Too Hard was a champion three-year-old and would have been a superstar had he raced on.
“In recent weeks we’ve seen almost a second wave of Ole Kirks arriving on the scene. They may need a bit more time to develop and mature, but they’re now hitting their straps and they’ll be even better once they get out to more suitable distances.”
That would certainly seem to apply to Ole Dancer, who has made the short trip south to Lauriston Farm where she will spend the next few days recovering from her Caulfield exertions, before returning to her Pakenham base later in the week.
The filly was bred by Neil Werrett, who owns her in partnership with his Black Caviar (Bel Esprit) cohorts Max Whitby and Colin Madden. The trio are therefore well-versed in enjoying high-level success with Moody, who in partnership with Katherine Coleman, has taken a patient approach with Ole Dancer which is now reaping rich rewards.
The pair have put a ring round the date on the Thousand Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) on their combined calendar, and with the fillies’ classic over the Caulfield mile having reverted to its traditional mid-October date, there are numerous paths which could potentially be plotted including the Edward Manifold Stakes (Gr 2, 1600m), which has been used as a springboard to Guineas glory in the recent past.
“The Thousand Guineas is an ambitious target for this filly but given she’s unbeaten and is showing real progress at home and at the races, you have to aim high and dream big,” said Coleman.
“She’s still got a lot of development ahead of her, so we’ll be very mindful of not asking her to do too much over the spring. She’s definitely got enough ability to be competitive in some of those top-class fillies races, but she’s still not quite there mentally so it’s really important that we don’t push her too hard at this early stage of her career.
“We’ll tread carefully but she has pulled up really well from Saturday’s race, she trotted up soundly on Monday morning and she ate all her feed overnight. She’ll spend a few days down at the farm then we’ll bring her back into the stables towards the end of the week and assess our next steps after consulting with the ownership group.
“We’ve only got a few Ole Kirks in the yard, but they definitely give you the impression that they will only improve with age. Ole Dancer has been very professional from day one, she knows what her job is but she’s not doing everything right just yet so I’m really excited to see her next autumn and beyond because I think she’ll really start to blossom once she’s matured and fully grown as a late three-year-old.”
Just across the road from Pakenham at Cranbourne, another unbeaten juvenile in Legacy Bound is currently preparing for his return to the races under the watchful eye of Robbie Griffiths, who is a leading member of the Ole Kirk fan club having shelled out $1 million for his filly out of Supara (Domesday) at last year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. That filly has been named Superior Dame and she is currently unraced.
Retained to race in the green and white Vinery colours, Legacy Bound was sent for a winter spell after an unblemished first racing campaign which culminated in a near three-length defeat of subsequent stakes winner Steel Trap (King’s Legacy) in the Breeders’ Stakes (Gr. 3, 1200m) at Morphettville.
“The emergence of Legacy Bound was definitely one of my personal highlights from this season,” White told ANZ News.
“To see a horse we bred ourselves and raised on the farm win so impressively on debut and then back it up in such spectacular fashion in a stakes race in Adelaide gave us all a big thrill. He’s a really promising horse for the future, and he’s not far away from trialling now.
“He’ll probably resume in the McKenzie Stakes at The Valley in early September, then Robbie will plot a path in the spring. He might come up to Sydney and try to follow his father by winning the Golden Rose, or if he’s better suited by sticking to sprint distances then the Coolmore would be the logical option.”
In light of the successful start Legacy Bound has made to his fledgling career, perhaps inevitably the team at Vinery has found space in Ole Kirk’s hectic diary to schedule another date with his dam Sanaya (More Than Ready).
She will be joined in the queue by several more repeat visitors, with the respective dams of O’ Ole (Vellor), Ole Dancer (Dancers) and King Kirk (Oxford Angel) also set to be reacquainted with Ole Kirk in the coming months.
Despite the hefty hike on his service fee, broodmare owners are still likely to receive a significant return on their investment with Ole Kirk’s yearlings selling consistently well at the sales this year, notably the sister to O’ Ole which fetched $650,000 at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.
“He’s been fully booked for some time and has attracted a really strong book of mares,” said White.
“He’s been well supported from the start and given his results so far, that will only continue into the future. We’ve got a fair few repeat bookings this year, it’s a no-brainer to see those mares coming back to him and it obviously bodes really well for the future.
“It’s a very exciting time for the farm, and we’re all looking forward to the future. With Ole Kirk being crowned the champion first season sire and looking like he’ll be an extremely important stallion for the entire industry, we feel very privileged to stand him at Vinery and we’re all looking forward to seeing what he can produce next year and beyond. We’re buying some nice broodmares to support him and all our stallions, so we’re confident of building on the Vinery brand for many years to come.”