It was on behalf of Neil Werrett, who had so much success with Black Caviar (Bel Esprit), the sister to Ole Kirk's dam, Naturale, that Player's International Thoroughbred Solutions paid $675,000 for the colt, who was offered by Gilgai Farm at the 2019 Inglis Melbourne Premier Sale.
"It's well known that it is Neil's favourite family and Neil wanted me to have a look at the horse and give an opinion, which I was very pleased to do. He had done the same with the Hawkes team and absolutely without John and Wayne liking the horse as much as they did, we wouldn’t have bought the horse," Player told TDN AusNZ.
Werrett was keen to keep his interest in the colt under wraps, especially considering his connection with the family, and elected to enlist Player to do his bidding.
"As soon as I saw the page and I remembered Rick [Jamieson] had told me about this sister to Black Caviar way back, and how unfortunately it couldn’t race," Werrett said. "So when it was coming up in Melbourne, I asked the Hawkeses if they had looked at it and they said it was on their list to buy.
"I said I want to buy it. I got Mark Player to buy for me because I didn’t want people to think the Hawkeses were buying for me."
What stood out to Player about Ole Kirk when he saw him was the same thing which captured the imagination of the Hawkeses.
"I went and saw him on several occasions and he always stamped himself as an athlete and a horse that had that wonderful thing called presence." - Mark Player
"He was just a fantastic mover the whole time. He had a great way of moving. I went and saw him on several occasions and he always stamped himself as an athlete and a horse that had that wonderful thing called presence," Player said.
"How we define presence, I'm not sure most of the time, but he had a great style about him. He always stood well, had a kind eye, and he was very much a horse that knew the job he had to do at the sales and kept doing it.
"When he walked, he was just an athlete. That movement was something that caught everyone in the team's eye."
Gallery: Ole Kirk as a yearling
That Hawkes magic
Gilgai Farm's Kelly Skillecorn recalled a colt that while possessing all of the desired qualities, was still yet to grow up when he hit the yearling sales.
"He was so immature, but that family keeps getting better and better. He was an immature colt at the sales and I’m just so grateful he ended up with the Hawkes’ who are so patient with these colts and there’s none better in turning a yearling colt into a stallion and they’ve done it again," he said.
"He was an immature colt at the sales and I’m just so grateful he ended up with the Hawkes’ who are so patient with these colts and there’s none better in turning a yearling colt into a stallion." - Kelly Skillecorn
Player agreed that the development of Ole Kirk from what he saw at Oaklands in March last year, to be a stakes winner on debut, Group 1-placed at two, and now a winner of one of Australia's premier stallion-making races, owed so much to the Hawkes' ability with these colts.
"The development is purely down to the Hawkes team. They have done a magnificent job with him. We never ever thought he was going to be an early 2-year-old and to come out and to be programmed for the Talindert first-up which was a Listed event, that spoke volumes of how much work the Hawkeses put into him. He was considered to be stakes grade without even having had a start," he said.
Ole Kirk was set a task in the Listed Talindert S. first-up
Team Hawkes had developed now Vinery Stud stallion, All Too Hard, a half-sibling to Ole Kirk's dam, along a very similar path, from a win in the Talindert, to a Group 1 placing later in the autumn and then to Group 1 glory in his 3-year-old spring, in his case the G1 Caulfield Guineas, a race which is next on Ole Kirk's agenda.
"It is a family that when you look right through, All Too Hard, Black Caviar, all those horses, did get better as they matured. So it was no surprise at all to see the Hawkses take a very patient path with him. To develop him the way they did," Player said.
"It was very encouraging early in this preparation, that Michael was giving the reports to Neil to say that the horse has continued to improve and was really going well. We thought this might be his time in the sun and he has still got a fair bit to go. I'm sure the team have got some lofty goals with him, and so they should after that."
Player still speaks regularly about the colt with Werrett, who heads an ownership group in Ole Kirk which also includes fellow Black Caviar owners Colin and Jannene Madden.
Connections of Ole Kirk after his Listed Talindert S. win
"I just enjoy him as a racing fan and I still talk to the team on a regular basis. The horse is programmed and managed by John and that's very appropriate and the way he should be. He has done such a terrific job with so many horses in the past. Neil has ultimate faith in him as do the rest of the ownership team," he said.
"I was just a small part of the team to make it happen, but it does give you confidence when you know that people like John are really supportive and wanted the horse as much as I did."
Outcross pedigree franks stud interest
With interest in Ole Kirk's stud future currently at fever pitch, Player will be there again as a sounding board for Werrett if required. As the first G1 Golden Rose S. winner in a decade to be completely free of Danehill (USA) in the pedigree, he admits Ole Kirk makes for an intriguing outcross option.
"It's going to be a very interesting period of time to see what happens in the next weeks and months," he said.
"Certainly to have that aspect of being free of Danehill, it’s one of the things that stood out with his pedigree to start with. We thought that if he was able to be a Group 1 winner, with that family behind him, it would be very attractive. The stars have aligned and the judgment of people like John and Neil have paid off."
"It's going to be a very interesting period of time to see what happens in the next weeks and months." - Mark Player
The Written Tycoon sireline is very much en vogue at the moment, with Ole Kirk one of two Group 1 winners over the weekend for the now Arrowfield Stud-based stallion, who also had Pippie win the G1 Moir S., at Moonee Valley on Friday night.
There are currently four sons of Written Tycoon at stud in Australia, Newgate pair Capitalist and Winning Rupert, Woodside Park's Rich Enuff and Widden Stud's Written By.
Written Tycoon | Standing at Arrowfield Stud
Player is a huge fan of the stallion's progeny and purchased another yearling colt by him for $400,000 at this year's Inglis Melbourne Premier Sale.
"It’s amazing, I bought just two horses in two years at Melbourne Premier and both were by Written Tycoon. Both of them were picked on type and that athleticism that the breed tends to have," he said.
"They tend to be good temperament racehorses and really want to get on with it. It’s great to see him as a stallion continuing to make his mark. He has been a fantastic servant for the Australian industry and I think the best is still ahead of him."
