Ole Kirk heads Vinery’s seven-member roster for 2022

The superbly bred Ole Kirk will headline Vinery Stud’s stallion roster for 2022, with the young sire standing for $55,000 (inc GST), the same fee as 2021. He will once again be joined on the farm by barn mates All Too Hard, Exceedance, Star Turn, Headwater, Press Statement and Casino Prince.

“It’s a young and exciting roster, one we are very happy with,” Adam White, bloodstock manager for Vinery Stud, told TDN AusNZ. “The interest shown points to another good season. We’re mindful of breeders and have tried to keep our fees reasonable.”

Gallery: Stallions standing at Vinery Stud

King Kirk the perfect package

Ole Kirk is an extremely good looking horse with a pedigree to match, being by star sire Written Tycoon, and from a sister to the great sprinter Black Caviar (Bel Esprit) and half-sister to All Too Hard.

Ole Kirk’s dam, Naturale (Bel Esprit), has also left Group 3-winning filly Gimme Par (Not A Single Doubt) who lines up on Saturday.

An outcross, being completely free of Danehill (USA) blood, Ole Kirk will be standing his second season, having retired from racing as a 3-year-old after three wins, including consecutive Group 1 victories in the Golden Rose S. and Caulfield Guineas.

Ole Kirk also put together an impressive juvenile season, which included a debut win in the Listed Talindert S. and a third-placed finish in the G1 Champagne S.

“He was a great inclusion for our roster last year and we’re really excited about him,” said White. “He’s by a champion stallion and it’s a great family, and he could run. He was a very talented 2-year-old and a better 3-year-old.

“He proved to be extremely fertile and being free of Danehill was a big advantage for a lot of breeders. He’s a great horse to have on our roster and he should be in for another good season. I’m looking forward to seeing his foals.”

Ole Kirk covered 170 mares during his first season, including stakes-winners Allez Wonder (Redoute’s Choice) and Aloha (Encosta De Lago). Allez Wonder won the G1 Toorak H. in 2009 and is the dam of Group 3 winner Kooweerup (More Than Ready {USA}).

A winner of the G1 Coolmore Classic in 2011, Aloha is the dam of the ill-fated star mare, multiple Group winner Libertini (I Am Invincible).

Ole Kirk also covered Eye For Fun (Snitzel), the dam of 2014 G1 Golden Slipper S. victress Mossfun (Mossman). And Rick Jamieson, who bred Black Caviar plus Vinery sires All Too Hard and Ole Kirk himself, sent his Group 2-winning mare La Passe (Street Sense {USA}) to the stallion also.

“He’s covered a good group of producing mares, as well. The standard amongst the mares was very strong, which you would expect with a horse of his credentials,” White added. “I would say he would get a similar-quality book this coming season.”

A stellar season, on and off the track

Alongside Ole Kirk at Vinery, All Too Hard’s progeny delivered on the track, and his yearlings were popular in the sales ring.

Behemoth, Wellington, Forbidden Love and Hard Too Think all won at the elite level, with the latter duo notching two Group 1 successes.

Gallery: Some of All Too Hard's progeny, images courtesy of Bronwen Healy

All Too Hard’s progeny have registered 102 winners and 155 wins for the season, while his overall statistics are nothing short of sensational, with just five full crops racing. His 22 individual stakes winners headline a record of 100 individual winners in each of the last four seasons.

He had 40 yearlings sell at an average of $98,025, including a filly from Manasari (More Than Ready {USA}) from Vinery Stud’s draft, which made $320,000 at Inglis Easter in Sydney, and a colt out of Crimson Cash (Lonhro), from Willow Park Stud’s draft, which realised $310,000 at Magic Millions on the Gold Coast.

All Too Hard will stand for $38,500 (inc GST) this spring, up from $33,000 (inc GST).

“He’s been an exceptional stallion and always been recognised as a real value sort of horse,” White said. “We were very keen to keep him in that light. He warranted going up in fee with what he’s doing, and he’s had multiple Group 1 winners this season alone.

“His progeny train on, too. You only have to look at Forbidden Love, who's gone to a new level this year. Wellington continues to dominate those sprint races in Hong Kong, and Behemoth is just a warhorse.

“He’s a great, proven horse for us. This year alone, his clearance rate’s been 93 per cent, which is exceptional.”

Spectacular speed

Exceedance, a son of the great Exceed And Excel, will once again stand for $33,000 (inc GST) this year after being fully subscribed with an average of 148 mares in his first two books.

He had a short but hugely successful career on the track, winning three of his 11 races, including the G1 Coolmore Stud S., where he defeated G1 Golden Rose hero Bivouac.

His debut victory at Wyong, where he thundered home from the rear of the field to score an astonishing and in the end, soft victory, had to be seen to be believed.

“He’s a well-credentialled horse by a world-class stallion from an exceptional-producing mare in Bonnie Mac; she’s produced three stakes winners, so he’s got a great female family underneath him,” said White.

“He’s very good-looking and athletic and had a turn of foot that was astounding sometimes. He’s got a crop of foals out there, which we’re extremely pleased about, and a few of those nice weanlings will head to the market in the next couple of months.

“The word from the breeders that have supported the horse has been very encouraging to us. We know the quality of foal that we’ve got here by him, but to hear it from outside farms is always encouraging.

“He’s a horse that’s going to gather a lot of momentum over the next few months and we’re really looking forward to him continuing along on and covering another good book of mares again this year.”

Starring at home and abroad

Star Turn is a stallion really making his mark, producing 32 winners and 44 wins for the season, which sees him sit sixth on the Second Season Sires’ table (by earnings).

Me Me Lagarde was a brilliant winner of the Listed Gold Edition Plate in December, while Startantes was placed on two occasions at Group 1 level. Miss Hipstar, Max Fire and La Bella Beals were also stakes-placed.

And Cordyceps Six boasts five wins from 10 starts and looks destined for black-type success.

At the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale in Melbourne, Trilogy Racing purchased a filly from Heigl (Bel Esprit) from Longwood Thoroughbred Farm’s draft for $200,000.

“He had a great first season with his runners last year,” White said. “His clearance rate at the major sales this year was 94 per cent and they averaged over six-times his current service fee.

“He’s been able to produce a good-quality stakes horse, and it’s good to see a him have a bit of success in Asia, too. That’s very important from a market point of view.

“He’s a very exciting stallion for us, now that he’s proven and can obviously get them to the races and win at a good level.

“We’re really excited about him for the future; he’s really establishing himself as a big attraction on our roster.”

Star Turn will stand for $27,500 (inc GST), up from $16,500.

Getting the job done

Headwater, another son of Exceed And Excel, from the Group 1-winning Hurricane Sky mare River Dove, remains at $16,500 (inc GST) after another encouraging year, which saw Jamaea win in Group 2 company and Mileva post two Listed victories.

With his third crop currently on the track, Headwater has 86 individual winners of 171 races to date.

His yearlings proved to be popular this season, selling at an average of $72,000 with a perfect 100 per cent clearance rate, and Headwater has averaged over 140 mares per book since retiring to Vinery Stud in 2016.

“He’s done a great job in a short period, he’s already been a leading first season sire by individual winners and he backed that up the following year to be Champion Second Season Sire by earnings,” White said.

“He’s terrific value at that price. He’s got some quality stock out there racing for him.”

Value for money

Press Statement’s fee has been reduced to $8800 (inc GST).

An undefeated Group 1 winner at two who returned to capture the G1 Caulfield Guineas at three, he sired 15 individual winners in the month leading up to Easter to go top five among Australia’s third-crop stallions in the winners and wins categories.

Press Statement had four stakes-placed progeny for the Australian season in Daily Bugle, Toomuchtobear, Roots and Ironic Miss.

“Toomuchtobear looks to be a very promising horse for Chris Waller,” White commented. “I look at Press Statement as a very similar horse to All Too Hard. They’re both Caulfield Guineas winners.

“His (Press Statement’s) stock are a bit like All Too Hard. They’re not really seen as 'get up and go 2-year-olds', even though he was a Group 1-winning 2-year-old himself. They do take a little bit of time.

“Using All Too Hard as an example, he went through that period where he just needed them to reach that age where they found their niche.

“Press Statement’s always had good numbers and he’s got good numbers coming through for him. This year is a good opportunity for him under that $10,000 mark, and he could really lift.”

Last but by no means least on the Vinery roster is the evergreen stallion Casino Prince, who will command the same fee as last season at $5500 (inc GST).

The Flying Spur 18-year-old has sired 21 individual stakes winners, with Vinery’s champion All Too Hard topping that list. His overall winners-to-runners rate sits just under 70 per cent, while his average earnings per starter is over $93,000, which is in excess of 16 times his fee.

“He’s probably one of the best-value stallions in the country,” White commented. “He’s a very popular breed-to-race stallion and we’re happy to have him on the roster for that particular reason.”