Not to be outdone by his younger counterpart, Vinery Stud’s All Too Hard also enjoyed a good day, siring four winners, including Bundle Of Charm’s triumph in Hong Kong, while Headwater was also represented by a trio of victors, headed by the talented Inundation, who took his unbeaten streak to three courtesy of his win in the Lamaro's Hotel H. at Caulfield.
Vinery Stud’s General Manager Peter Orton told TDN AusNZ he was pleased with the farm’s ‘wonderful’ day and said there was a lot to look forward to.
“It was a wonderful day for the farm and plenty to look forward to,” said Orton. “We are really happy with all the stallions. We are following them through, supporting them and making sure they get every opportunity, giving people confidence when they are breeding to them or buying their progeny.”
Peter Orton, general manager of Vinery Stud | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
While it was a brilliant day overall for Vinery, undoubtedly the headline act was Star Turn who has really hit the straps this season, siring 47 winners from 96 starters and Startantes’ victory on Saturday saw his total number of stakes winners in the past 12 months swell to four.
The son of Star Witness joined the Vinery Stud roster in 2017 after a brilliant career on the track, which included wins in the G3 San Domenico S. and G2 Schillaci S. and, while not a Group 1 winner, the stallion finished in the frame at the top-level on no fewer than four occasions.
Star Turn’s graduating class oozed quality, with G1 Golden Slipper S. winner Capitalist, G1 Coolmore Stud S. winner Flying Artie and Extreme Choice, who landed the G1 Blue Diamond S., all retiring to Newgate Farm in the same year and Orton said the competition for a new stallion in that year was fierce.
Star Turn’s graduating class oozed quality, with G1 Golden Slipper S. winner Capitalist, G1 Coolmore Stud S. winner Flying Artie and Extreme Choice, who landed the G1 Blue Diamond S.
“It has been a great lead up and he’s had a good season. If you go back and have a look at the number of brilliant colts that went to stud that year and it was a very competitive market.
"He started off covering those lower-level mares and importantly, what he has really proven to us is that he can really upgrade those mares and that is what we look for in a stallion,” he explained.
This season has Star Turn has made his presence felt in new markets, with brilliant G3 Sha Tin Vase winner Cordyceps Six advertising his appeal in Australia’s largest market for exports, Hong Kong, while Golden Monkey has shown his credentials in another important jurisdiction when the gelding galloped to Listed success in Singapore.
“He gets a plethora of winners and he was unlucky not to have had a Group 1 winner before now, but he’s got it and he’s also the sire of a brilliant winner in Hong Kong, Cordyceps Six, who looks a really talented horse and the stallion is certainly ticking all the boxes at the moment and doing it at a nice young age,” said Orton.
“Hong Kong is a really important market for a stallion and it’s also obviously an important market for Australia. It has very similar racing and the style of horses we have here do well there as well, so doing well in those markets does open new doors for a stallion.”
“Hong Kong is a really important market for a stallion and it’s also obviously an important market for Australia.” - Peter Orton
Orton believes the secret to Star Turn’s success is his ability to upgrade his mares and this important trait gives breeders the confidence to support him.
“Star Turn is a real alpha male himself and he’s very dominant and muscular,” Orton said. "When you are looking to upgrade the pedigrees and looking to protect the record of your mare, you are looking for stronger, sounder horses and you are looking for a stallion who is going to be genuine and give your mare a chance and I think Star Turn has shown he does this.
“In a lot of cases, you can look at Star Turn and know that he will put a lot of substance into the foals and produce a lot of athletic types as well.”
Off the back of his brilliant year, Vinery decided to increase his fee a shade and in 2022 the stallion will command $27,500 (inc GST), his highest fee to date and, with Saturday’s Group 1 victory, that slight growth looks justified.
Star Turn | Standing at Vinery Stud
“We put his fee up slightly, but the way it’s worked out, that still looks good value, but we would rather have the horse to be well sought-after and treated with the respect he deserves, getting that better quality of mares booked into him,” said Orton.
“When you take into account the other service fees that have been announced this year, he definitely could have stood for a little bit more and I think he is particularly well-priced.”
Being by Star Witness and out of Made Of Gold (USA) mare Golden Delicious, Star Turn is a total outcross, an attractive prospect for breeders in a Danehill (USA)-line saturated market.
“The 2022 book will be the best book he has ever covered and breeders have a lot of confidence in him because he clearly has the ability to get them a high-class stakes-winning horse,” Orton explained.
“The 2022 book will be the best book he has ever covered and breeders have a lot of confidence in him and he clearly has the ability to get them a high-class stakes-winning horse.” - Peter Orton
“He is a fair outcross to the Danehill blood, so that opens up opportunities for him too. We have a broader market on him now, with Hong Kong very strong on him and also interest from every level in every state.
“They are not the pre-Christmas horses you would think for such a big, strong stallion, but they are really maturing into brilliant late 2-year-olds and 3-year-olds and that is going to suit so many markets.
“Startantes’ win has kept his profile up and it is hard to keep it up and much easier to lose, to finish off with the last Group 1 of the year, he certainly deserved it and you couldn’t have asked for a better result for us.”
