It's Dirty Work at Spendthrift for the upcoming season

Cover image courtesy of Bronwen Healy

Spendthrift Australia has announced its stallion roster for the upcoming breeding season, with the brilliant sprinter Dirty Work joining an already robust lineup of Australian residents in Gold Standard, Overshare and Swear. US shuttlers Omaha Beach and Vino Rosso will also return for their second seasons in the Southern Hemisphere.

The addition of Dirty Work is a significant feather in the farm’s cap.

Spendthrift purchased the horse as an Inglis Easter yearling in 2018, paying $800,000 for him from the draft of Sledmere Stud. He was a superb yearling physically, a third foal from the Ad Valorem (USA) mare Maidel.

Dirty Work was third in the G3 Vain S. behind Bivouac in his third outing for the Hawkes training team, and his victory in the G2 Schillaci S. in 2020 was scintillating. The horse flew from last to first for a victory that registered a meeting-record of 32.93s for the final 600 metres.

Garry Cuddy is the General Manager of Spendthrift Australia, and said the arrival of Dirty Work is a bit of a homecoming.

“It’s very exciting to have Dirty Work coming this year, being a horse that we purchased as a yearling and having him find a home alongside Overshare and Swear, who are horses that we also purchased as yearlings,” he said. “There’s always that extra little bit of sentiment attached when they’re bought as yearlings, race in your colours and end up on your roster.”

The future stallion is still in-training with the Hawkes partnership at Flemington, and is pointed at the G1 Goodwood H. in 10 days’ time. Cuddy said Dirty Work will represent one of the best sirelines in Australia right now, by the indomitable Written Tycoon.

“Written Tycoon this season is a fireworks display,” he said, “from his own progeny flying on the track to that of his son, Capitalist. And we’re very excited to be adding arguably his best-looking sire son to the roster. We’re talking about a very, very fast son of one of the best stallions in the country at the moment. If we weren’t excited for his arrival, we’re in the wrong game.”

Dirty Work will join the unique Share The Upside Program at Spendthrift this season, which will see a limited number of breeders given the opportunity to land a lifetime breeding right to the stallion for the tenure of his Spendthrift career.

Americans return

US shuttlers Omaha Beach and Vino Rosso will return in the wake of successful debut southern seasons last year. Omaha Beach, a Group 1-winning son of the outstanding War Front (USA), will once again cover a restricted book of 100 mares at a fee of $22,000 (inc GST).

Last season, the horse covered a strong book that included G1 Railway S. winner Santa Monica (NZ) (Per Incanto {USA}) and Elegant Eagle (NZ) (Zabeel {NZ}), who is the dam of G1 Champagne S. winner Go Indy Go (Bernardini {USA}).

“We’re eagerly awaiting his first crop of foals after seeing the strength and quality of his American progeny,” Cuddy said.

Meanwhile, Breeders’ Cup hero Vino Rosso will return for what is expected to be another full book at a service fee of $13,750 (inc GST). The horse was a winner of close to US$5 million (AU$6,475,000) during a stellar career in the US, which included the G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic and G1 Santa Anita Gold Cup, the former the fastest on record.

By Curlin (USA), Vino Rosso closely resembles his tough, accomplished sire, and from the Street Cry (USA) mare Mythical Bride (USA), he presents a familiar cross for Australian breeders, one that has resulted in the fast Group 1 winners Con Te Partiro (USA) (Scat Daddy {USA}) and Trekking (Street Cry {Ire}).

Among the local mares in-foal to Vino Rosso is Soft Landing (Al Maher), the dam of G1 Coolmore Classic and Magic Millions Mares winner Krone (Eurozone).

“It’s fantastic to have Omaha and Vino Rosso returning again this year,” Cuddy said. “They’re two horses that, on the track, were of the highest quality and, from what we’ve seen so far of their foals on the ground, there’s not too many complaints. I’m expecting really good support for their books again this year.”

Locals kicking goals

Spendthrift’s local residents in Overshare, Gold Standard and Swear all head into the new season with fees unchanged. Overshare, who will stand for $11,000 (inc GST), approaches his fourth year at stud, and enjoyed his first yearling selling this year for $180,000 to the Hawkes team. It proved a 16-fold return on the stallion’s fee.

Overshare is a son of I Am Invincible and, at this fee, is equal to his famous sire’s fee for the equivalent first four years at stud.

Gold Standard, by Sebring, will also enter his fourth season in the breeding barn and, at a fee of $5500 (inc GST), he represents exceptional value. His first crop of yearlings have entered the stables of the Waterhouse-Bott partnership, McEvoy Mitchell Racing and Shane Nichols.

Gold Standard was a winner of the G2 Stan Fox in 2017, defeating Trapeze Artist and Ace High. He joined a number of brilliant Stan Fox winners at stud, including Octagonal (NZ), General Nediym and Pins.

Swear, meanwhile, will also stand for $5500 (inc GST) this season, a son of Redoute’s Choice and winner of the G3 Ming Dynasty Quality as a 3-year-old. He was also a runner-up in the G1 Spring Champion S.

Swear was a $725,000 yearling for Spendthrift Farm in 2015, and he has had exciting results at stud early, with two winners from only three runners, among them the promising Faulds.

All three stallions, along with Vino Rosso, are included in Spendthrift’s Breed Secure Program, which allows breeders to pay their service fees after the sale of a resultant foal, recoup their expense allowance and secure a financial upside.

*All prices inclusive of GST