Tony Santic gave a vote of approval to All Too Hard when he sent Makybe Diva to the Vinery freshman last year and was in the winners stall with Wonderbolt on Saturday.
The legendary Melbourne Cup mare is carrying a PPT on an early cover and she will be one of the first to deliver an All Too Hard foal in August.
Santic was back in the spotlight with a son of Vinery champion More Than Ready on Saturday. His homebred gelding Wonderbolt scored a very impressive victory in the Hyland Race Colours Hcp (1200m) at Rosehill.
Wonderbolt (3g More Than Ready – Fun In Flight by Fusaichi Pegasus) unleashed a brilliant finishing burst to defeat the favourite Encostanati by two lengths. “The good speed up front was crucial,” jockey Josh Parr explained. “He’s got a great turn of foot and feels like a very exciting sprinter.”
Santic races him in partnership with trainer Anthony Cummins and Bangaloe Stud owner Julie Ritchie. The gelding was a Gosford maiden winner at the start of the season and he added a Kembla Grange restricted sprint in May.
Wonderbolt is from Vinery-bred mare Fun In Flight who was a Flemington stakes winner in March 2006. Her younger half-sister Come Hither (Redoute’s Choice ) also won a black-type race at headquarters for Sheikh Mohammed in March 2009.
More Than Ready has sired 43 individual winners of 62 races in the three year-old division this season. His classy colt War was the first to claim black-type in the G3 Up And Coming Stakes and he was followed by Vivi Veloce (G3 The Jansz), Romantic Moon (G3 Sweet Embrace St) and Excitable Boy (LR Flemington Festival Of Racing 1000).
War has just been retired to stand at Blue Gum Farm in Euroa.
More Than Ready returns to Vinery next month from Winstar in Kentucky where he will stand alongside his son Pluck. He leads the Vinery roster alongside All Too Hard – both stallions are priced at a $66,000 (inc gst) fee this year.
