Vinery’s stallions hold firm as Hawaii Five Oh proves popular
Five of the six stallions from last year’s Hunter Valley farm’s roster remain unchanged for the 2024 season
Vinery Stud has stuck solid with its stallion roster, maintaining the service fees for five of the six sires who stood at the farm in 2023 and have been thrilled with the early reaction to its new arrival, Hawaii Five Oh (I Am Invincible).
The respected Hunter Valley farm has chosen to leave the service fees for dual Group 1-winning three-year-old Ole Kirk (Written Tycoon) ($55,000 all fees inc GST), All Too Hard (Casino Prince) ($38,500), Exceedance (Exceed And Excel) ($33,000), Star Turn (Star Witness) ($27,500) and Casino Prince (Flying Spur) ($5,500) all unchanged.
Headwater (Exceed And Excel), one of seven stallions on the roster, however, has had his fee marginally cut from $13,200 to $9,900 ahead of the upcoming breeding season.
Following on from Darley and Newgate Farm, in particular, and taking notice of the softening of the yearling market with the announcement of the service fees for the Newgate’s roster of 17 stallions on Monday, Vinery’s general manager Peter Orton suggested that the stud’s roster provided value for money to breeders.
“This year, in particular, we’ve got to be a little bit cautious and our fees have remained the same,” Orton told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“Our horses are all doing well enough to underpin them and ensure that they’re too volatile [mare book wise].
“They’re affordable and there’s a potential return [for breeders] on our stallions.”
The first crop yearlings by Ole Kirk, who is out of an unraced sister to unbeaten champion mare Black Caviar (Bel Esprit) and a half-sister to Group 3 winner Gimmie Par (Not A Single Doubt), have averaged $150,938 at the sales this year with a filly selling to Cranbourne trainers Robbie Griffiths and Mathew de Kock for $1 million at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale in January.
“He’s a high-level horse, he was a good racehorse with a super pedigree and people have really taken to him big-time,” Orton said.
“His yearlings sold so well, he got a million dollar yearling, so a lot of high-level breeders [are backing him] and he certainly fits that profile [to be a successful stallion.”
He added: “They’ll be better as they mature, but he’s a nice compact horse and there’s quite a few early maturing types, so we might see a little of of his [progeny on the racetrack] early enough, but certainly he’ll be hitting his traps later into this two-year-old year I would think.”
Alligator Blood has again flown the flag for his Vinery stalwart sire All Too Hard, but the Might And Power (Gr 1, 2000m) and Underwood Stakes (Gr 1, 1800m) winner wasn’t alone with Viva Vienna, Babylon Berlin and Far Too Easy all winning stakes races since August 1.
Seven others have also been stakes-placed and, as of Tuesday, he’s sired 95 individual winners.
“He’s always in the top ten [on the general sires’ table] or nearby and he’s getting winners all the time, so we’re happy with how he’s doing … but the interesting angle to him of late is his trade animals are doing so well,” Orton said.
“He had the champion sprinter in Hong Kong [Wellington] and he was the leading sire at last year’s Ready to Run Sale in New Zealand.
“So, there seems to be a bit more confidence this year from buyers and breeders who have got a good outlet with him, so he’s probably good value.
“That’s sort of where he’s at and he can attract a good book of mares.”
With four winners so far in his first crop, including the Tony and Calvin McEvoy-trained dual Group 3-winning colt Dublin Down and the Melbourne-winning filly Flyer, barnmate Exceedance has made an encouraging start to his stud career as the possible successor to his now pensioned Darley champion Exceed And Excel (Danehill).
“I think it’s a very good year [for first season sires] and he’s competing quite well and I think the best from him is yet to come with his later two-year-olds and three-year-olds who are going to be nice horses,” Orton said.
“He’s a great looking stallion himself and he gets very good looking stock and if they’ve happened to capture that turn of foot that he had, then we’re in great shape.
“He’s a Coolmore winner and he’s obviously a superior racehorse himself … and we’re quite confident he’ll prove himself.”
Star Turn’s fee of $27,500 also remains unchanged for the third year in succession.
His consistent daughter Alsephina finished runner-up in the Railway Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) in Perth last November as well as two other Western Australian Group 3s for Perth trainers Grant and Alana Williams while the John O’Shea-trained Saltaire has also been placed four times at black-type level this season.
He has also sired four winners in Hong Kong, while the Tim Fitzsimmons-trained Golden Monkey has been stakes-placed in Singapore.
“He always upgrades his mares and that’s something you look for in any stallion,” Orton said of Star Turn.
“He’s a bit of an outcross, too, and considering he was in a very competitive year when he started, he’s had to fight his way up and he’s done that. He’s very consistent and his stock are also really well respected in Hong Kong, so that whole Asian interest is good for him and that adds another string to the bow.”
Last week, Vinery announced that Hawaii Five Oh (I Am Invincible), a dual Group 3 winner and Group 1-placed sprinter, would join its roster in 2024 and since going public with his acquisition the stud has had a rush of investors snapping up shares in the son of Australia’s champion sire.
Baramul Stud’s Gerry Harvey, who bred and raced the entire, has already committed 50 mares to Hawaii Five Oh in his first season but Yarraman Park, Coolmore, Aquis Farm and others have also committed to supporting the stallion at an introductory fee of $16,500.
“There’s been a rush on him. The shares went in a day and nominations are going thick and fast,” Orton said.
“He’s got a good group of shareholders in him … and he’s a beautiful horse with a great depth of pedigree and he’ll get a great opportunity.”
Headwater, another son of Exceed And Excel on the Vinery roster, had his fee cut to $9,900 despite being the equal leading two-year-old Australian sire so far this season by winners with eight alongside Too Darn Hot (Dubawi).
His juvenile filly Pure Aqua won the Without Fear Stakes (Listed, 1050m) at Morphettville on April 13 while his Richard and Chantelle Jolly-trained stablemate, four-year-old mare Aitch Two Oh, won the Durbridge Stakes (Listed, 1100m) at the same Adelaide course in January.
Meanwhile, four-year-old Strait Acer, a gelding trained by Edward Cummings, ran third in the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) at Caulfield last November, a race won by Magic Time (Hellbent).
Strait Acer is set to run in Sunday’s $775,000 The Archer (1300m) at Rockhampton.
“We’re pretty hard on him in a way because … we’ve lowered his fee at a time when perhaps breeders’ are looking for new sires, but a horse like him is so valuable,” Orton said.
“He gets plenty of winners, to get so many two-year-old winners so far this season, he’s doing the job. He is great value and the market probably needs to fire up a bit more as [in our opinion] he’s underappreciated.”
The ever consistent rising 21-year-old Casino Prince rounds out the Vinery roster, having churned out 47 winners so far this season including Perth Cup (Gr 2, 2400m) winner Casino Seventeen and he will stand for an unaltered fee of $5,500.
Vinery Stud roster
2024 2023
Ole Kirk (Written Tycoon) $55,000 unchanged
All Too Hard (Casino Prince) $38,500 unchanged
Exceedance (Exceed And Excel) $33,000 unchanged
Star Turn (Star Witness) $27,500 unchanged
Hawaii Five Oh (I Am Invincible) $16,500 new
Headwater (Exceed And Excel) $9,900 $13,200
Casino Prince (Flying Spur) $5,500 unchanged