‘Breeders do recognise what a wonderful stallion he really is’
All Too Hard (Casino Prince) lived up to his reputation as “Mr Consistent” with another pair of metro winners on Saturday, with Losesomewinmore scoring at Flemington and Test The Law prevailing in Adelaide.
But for a sire most widely known by some “solid” adjectives – reliable, under-rated, consistent – the Vinery Stud stallion does boast some especially glamorous statistics.
Over the past five seasons including this one, All Too Hard’s stock have won 18 Group 1 races. That’s a feat bettered only by triple champion sire I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit) – and only by one – and with ten of his 19 claimed by the one horse in Imperatriz.
Vinery’s stats also show All Too Hard has the most multiple Group 1 winners among Australian sires over these five years, with five, and that only he and Coolmore Stud’s So You Think (High Chaparral) have sired an elite victor in each of those five seasons.
For a rising 16-year-old stallion who’ll stand this year for $27,500 (inc GST), that’s good going.
All Too Hard is currently tenth on the Australian general sires’ table, in line for his fourth top-ten finish in five years alongside a 12th in 2023. With four black type races left this term, he’s had his equal–second best season for Australian stakes winners, with five, while also enjoying his equal-top such return in New Zealand, with two from just 12 runners.
He’s also the equal cheapest stallion in the Australian top ten, alongside Pride Of Dubai (Street Cry). That Coolmore stallion is clinging onto a second-ranking hugely inflated by Bella Nipotina’s windfall from winning The Everest (Gr 1, 1200m), with his $22,558,393 earnings on Sunday being $116,000 ahead of third-placed I Am Invincible.
How many times can a stallion be called under-rated before it proves that he’s not?
“He is Mr Consistent – that’s a term that’s used for him a lot,” Vinery general manager Adam White told ANZ News. “But from our point of view, we’ve got so many breeders saying he’s just such a good stallion. They even use the word under-rated, but the amount of times people tell us that, it actually indicates that he’s not. They do recognise he’s a pretty good stallion.
“That perception of him over the last couple of years has changed. Breeders do recognise what a wonderful stallion he really is.”
Such was reflected in All Too Hard’s yearling average this year, a rise from $79,641 to $102,525. That was off his service fee of the past three years of $38,500 (inc GST).
Vinery believes breeders will reap a still greater return on investment in three years after dropping All Too Hard to $27,500 this spring – while his younger barnmate and relative Ole Kirk (Written Tycoon) leaps from $55,000 to $99,000 (inc GST) thanks to his sewn-up first season sires’ title.
“We brought him back down to $25,000 (plus GST) this year, because we just feel he’s at that level of the market,” White said. “We wanted another strong book of mares with him, and they’re coming in at a regular rate at the moment.
“That figure is somewhere where he’s competitive and breeders can get a good result with him. We obviously use him a lot with our own mares. He’s a good, proven source and a very consistent stallion, and we’ve had some tremendous results over the last couple of years at the sales.”
White cites Vinery lots including a $350,000 Inglis Classic colt this year, a $360,000 Inglis Premier colt last year, and a filly who made $400,000 at Inglis Easter in 2023, among results reflecting All Too Hard’s value.
And yet his top sellers remain a colt and a filly from among his first three crops, who each fetched $600,000.
There’s still a reward for patience with All Too Hard’s stock, which can explain this apparent glass ceiling at the yearling sales.
But his five elite winners have trained on to be multiple Group 1 victors. Geldings Alligator Blood, Wellington and Behemoth won seven, four and three respectively, while Forbidden Love won three and her fellow mare Stefi Magnetica has two so far.
“We think he’s great value,” White said of the four-time Group 1 winner, and Black Caviar’s (Bel Esprit) half-brother.
“He’s had another good year both on the track and in the sale ring. Very rarely does a Saturday go by when he’s not getting a metro winner somewhere.
“When you add some great results like Stefi Magnetica winning the Doncaster this year and Philia winning a Group 2 and a Listed in Brisbane, it’s been a terrific season.
“His yearling sale results this year have gone up again. His colts have that great appeal to the Asian market. Wellington flew the flag for him in Hong Kong, and his stock below that level have done well also.
“And with his ability to get a top class filly as well, which he’s demonstrated again this season, his fillies have been going quite well in the sale ring.”
A total of 18 of All Too Hard’s stakes winners have been male, and 12 female. From his global 533 winners from 798 runners at 66.8 per cent, 300 have been male and 232 female.
While he’s had five two-year-old stakes winners, he’s had 13 at three and 19 at four. Alligator Blood won his last Group 1 at seven, Wellington and Behemoth at six.
“The great thing about the breed is they train on and they’re tough,” White said.
“It’s common knowledge he doesn’t get up-and-running two-year-olds so much. He does get the odd good performing two-year-old, but generally the trainers know how to train them and they give them plenty of time.
“But you only have to look at his Group 1 record; Alligator Blood, Stefi Magnetica, Behemoth, Wellington, they can race at that high level year in year out.”
All Too Hard covered books in the mid 110s in the past two years, down from 145 in 2022 and a career high of 191 in 2020 – the second of his two previous seasons at $27,500.
Back at that fee again this spring, White expects a jump to between 120-150 mares, especially given the reliability that comes with fertility rates usually comfortably exceeding 80 per cent.
“With his bookings, he’s ahead of where he was at the same time last year,” White said.
“Horses like him don’t book out this early. He’s a very fertile horse, people know that, so he does pick up a lot of mares even from this point, and during the season. He can be a bit of a go-to horse when people are missing coverings or whatnot to other busier horses, so he’s going to end up with a nice enough book this year.”
Meanwhile, the buzz around Ole Kirk remains strong, with the rising eight-year-old fully booked for his first season nudging a six-figure service fee.
Ole Kirk is a comfortable leader in all categories on the debutant sires’ table, including by his 13 winners and four stakes victors.
“He’ll be crowned champion first season sire, which is fantastic,” White said. “He’s obviously a very exciting horse for us.
“What his stock have done as two-year-olds has been superb, and given what his pedigree is and the racehorse he was in his own right, it’s exciting times for a stallion like that.
“It’s been great for us and his shareholder group, but it’s also good for the industry to have a stallion coming through the ranks.”