Vinery sires All Too Hard and Ole Kirk have finished Top 10 on the Day 1 leaderboard of the Inglis Melbourne Premier Sale with yearlings that fetched $360,000 apiece at Oakland Junction.
All Too Hard kept his GPS in sync with the Melbourne Sale siring city winners Hard Squeeze (Moonee Valley) on Friday night and Arran Bay (Flemington) on Saturday.
They arrived just in time for the first All Too Hard colt to parade from Vinery Stud (as agent) at the Inglis Sale on Sunday morning. Catalogued as Lot 13, the colt is the first foal from The Bride (More Than Ready) and he was purchased by Hong Kong trainer Ricky Yiu for $360,000.
The Bride is owned by Vinery partner Alan Green and Brian Singer and she’s a full-sister to Entisaar who was named South Africa’s Champion 2YO Filly of 2014-15 after winning the Allan Robertson Championship (Gr.1, 1200m) at Scottsville. “I didn’t think he would be that expensive,” Yiu said while sitting with agent Dean Hawkes. “All Too Hard is going very well in Hong Kong and this one looks an athlete. I decided to strike early – they could cost even more later in the Sale.”
Yiu has several All Too Hard expats on the books including two rookies sourced from the 2022 Inglis and Magic Millions 2YO Sales. Victorythirtythree (3g All Too Hard – Divergence by Big Brown) made $100,000 on the Gold Coast and he’s in pre-training at Conghua for the Specific Syndicate.
Bowser (3g All Too Hard – Be Happy by Bernardini) cost $230,000 at Riverside Stables and he won’t be long winning for the Jolly Family Syndicate after a flashing-light second in the Peony Hcp (1000m) at Sha Tin on February 4.
All Too Hard and Ole Kirk are close relations and were both bred by Gilgai Farm owner Rick Jamieson at his property in Nagambie.
Ole Kirk’s first-crop filly out of Tune Doubt (Not A Single Doubt) was sold to Shane McGrath and trainer Clint MacDonald who were still walking on air after winning the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) with Hayasugi (Royal Meeting) last weekend. The bought her for $360,000 on behalf of first-time owner Dennis Alysandratos who is managing-director of Consolidated Travel.
“We will set her for the Inglis Banner on Cox Plate Day at Moonee Valley and, who knows, she might make it two Blue Diamonds in a row for us next year,” MacDonald said of the Gilgai Farm-consigned chestnut filly. “We looked at her three or four times and love her 100%. She has a wonderful attitude and should fit nicely into our system. The owners are new people to racing. They’re excited and one of them reckons he was more nervous buying a horse than buying a building.”
Ole Kirk sired her from a family developed by WA-based Oakland Park owners Neville and Susan Duncan. She’s the second foal from Tune Doubt who is a half-sister to Jukebox (MRC Vain Stakes Gr.3) and the dams of Bruckner (MRC HDF McNeil Stakes Gr,3) and Beethoven (WATC Perth Stakes LR).
Vinery’s Exceedance – Beechal colt (Lot 127) was purchased by Winning Stud and agent Satomi Oka for $220,000 on Sunday. His dam is a winning Lonhro mare and her first foal Spicy Spangle (Headwater) is ready to debut in Hong Kong for trainer Pierre Ng. Champion jockey Zac Purton persuaded him to run on at the finish of 1000m trial at Sha Tin last Tuesday.
Inglis reported Day 1 turnover of $26.12 million was down 1% compared to last year while the average of $139,701 dipped 2%. Vinery sold 7 yearlings during the first session at an average of $137,143.