Cover image courtesy of Bronwen Healy
Peter Orton is general manager of Vinery Stud, where More Than Ready shuttled for an amazing 19 seasons. In that time he produced 11 individual Group 1 winners in Australia, headlined by the Gai Waterhouse-trained More Joyous (NZ).
Speaking to TDN AusNZ, Waterhouse noted that despite his wide appeal as a stallion, hers was a particularly productive association with his progeny.
“Not everyone enjoyed the success that I did with his progeny,” she said. “I don’t know what it was. They were easy to train, very straightforward, uncomplicated, and athletic types of horses. And More Joyous was certainly that; she was the most remarkable race filly and mare, and probably his greatest female to race in Australia.”
The incredible constitution of More Joyous saw her win 21 races from 33 starts, over $4.5 million in prizemoney and no fewer than eight Group 1 events.
“She had a very good temperament, and she had a toughness about her that all good race mares have. She’d just roll up her sleeves, get on with the job and then say, ‘What’s next?’ And all of his horses have been exactly like that – that’s the dream.”
If More Joyous was the greatest female progeny of More Than Ready to race in Australia, her male counterpart is Sebring. Also trained by Waterhouse, the Champion 2-Year-Old turned sire is also an advert for the versatility endowed by More Than Ready.
“Sebring was probably one of the greatest males as he was Australasian Champion 2-Year-Old, only being narrowly beaten in the Triple Crown, he went down by half a head. He was a brilliant horse, with brilliant speed, and yet they (More Than Ready’s progeny) could race up to 2000 metres.
“More Than Ready was an extremely versatile stallion, and a stallion that nicked very well with Australian broodmares.”
From Derby winners, such as Prized Icon and Eagle Way, to G1 Golden Slipper winners such as Sebring and Phelan Ready, More Than Ready really could do it all.
He also stood out in his longevity as a stallion. As evidenced by his 216 stakes winners worldwide, he continued to produce top horses into old age, where most stallions enter a gradual decline. He is the fourth-highest all-time stakes-producing stallion, behind only Galileo (Ire) (357), Danehill (USA) (347) and Dubawi (Ire) (238).
“I think all good stallions do,” said Waterhouse. “In our stable this year we’ve got two or three More Than Readys, now they’re the sons and daughters of a very old stallion. But we were still buying them in January.”
“They have less chance as they get older, but More Than Ready defied them.”
This year has seen the last opportunity to buy yearlings by More Than Ready, as he ceased shuttling from WinStar Farm after 2019. Having started in 2001, and not missing a year, that’s an amazing 19 seasons.
“That’s unheard of,” Waterhouse said. “It’s such a task for a stallion, because of the number of mares they cover. You only have to think about yourself travelling… Australia to America and they didn’t have a break, they just started serving another book of mares. I don’t know how they do it.
“One forgets how many American horses have come down here and been complete failures, and More Than Ready just came down here and said: ‘Hello, here’s another hemisphere I can conquer."
Like a family pet
When it comes to his fortitude in the covering shed, few knew the horse better than Peter Orton. Joining Vinery Stud in 2000, Orton has overseen More Than Ready’s entire shuttling career, and was understandably moved by the loss of a horse that he, and the whole stud, held dear.
“It really is like losing one of your family pets, you can’t help but get attached to them,” Orton told TDN AusNZ.
“He was such a beautifully natured horse, and he was a pleasure to have around, and he was so much part of the fabric of Vinery.”
Far from just a mainstay at Vinery, More Than Ready helped to establish the stud as the force it is today.
“We started Vinery in Australia and along with a few others, it was More Than Ready who laid the foundation, and he was just the heart and soul of Vinery. It is quite emotional.”
Orton, like Waterhouse, noted that one of the stallion’s great qualities was his versatility.
“When we identified him in the first place hoping he would be versatile, and we were thinking he had a pedigree that would mix with our bloodlines. His ability had to be such a great all-round horse. They really could run on any surface and in any country.”
The latter point is there to see in the numbers; More Than Ready’s winners to runners statistics are astoundingly close in both countries in which he stood. In the US it is 71.67 per cent, and in Australia, 69.67 per cent.
“He has produced such brilliant athletes and we are trying to upgrade all the time and he just fitted every criteria to allow us to do that and apart from that, he was a good bloke!”
Also of note is his prominence as a broodmare sire, and his female produce work particularly well with Danehill-line mares. A fine example being the 20 per cent stakes winners to runners achieved when crossed to Redoute’s Choice.
For Exceed And Excel, that statistic raises to an eye-watering 25 per cent, which includes the co-Champion Sprinter turned Darley stallion Bivouac, whose dam Dazzler is yet another winning daughter of More Than Ready.
“They have become collector’s types and people are going out of their way to get daughters of More Than Ready because they work so well with different stallions and he works so well with Danehill-line mares, but he does a great job with other sirelines too,” said Orton.
Remarking on his greatest characteristics, Orton picked out his temperament, echoing Waterhouse’s observations on his progeny.
“To shuttle down here as much as he did is remarkable, but he had such a wonderful temperament and that was definitely the key to his success,” he said.
“The messages we have received from vets to breeders has been amazing, he touched the hearts of so many people and he will be sorely missed.”
