The wheel turned full circle for Team Hawkes this week when they inspected the first yearlings by Vinery sire Exceedance at the Gold Coast Magic Millions.
John, Wayne and Michael Hawkes purchased Exceedance for $180,000 as a yearling on behalf of a Vinery syndicate and his stud value sky-rocketed following a Group 1 victory in the 2019 Coolmore Stud Stakes (Gr.1, 1200m) at Flemington.
“We rated him very highly as a yearling – he had that x-factor,” Wayne Hawkes recalled. “The Coolmore is a stallion-making race and we had made another stallion earlier that year when Brutal won the Doncaster.”
He also caught the eye of Vinery general manager Peter Orton with his presence and attitude. “I’m a big fan of the Exceed And Excel sireline and we were determined to buy Exceedance. He looked a beautiful mover as a yearling with a great eye and plenty of scope to keep developing.”
Vinery’s Magic Millions colt by Exceedance from Sharpness (Lot 365) would have been bookmarked on Day 2 by John Hawkes. He trained the dam to wins in Sydney and Melbourne and her first foal Super Sharp (More Than Ready) was an Adelaide 2yo winner for Leon Macdonald in April.
It’s an ultra-precocious family through second-dam Crystal Wit (SAJC Dequetteville Stakes LR) and her half-sister Crystal Lily (ATC Golden Slipper Stakes Gr.1).
Another Exceedance from a Team Hawkes-trained mare is the half-sister to Rock Sturdy (Shannon Stakes Gr.2). Their dam Tzu Hsi (Quest For Fame) was a 2yo winner at Randwick and Canterbury and her yearling filly from Edinburgh Park will parade as Lot 510 on Day 3
Edinburgh Park’s Ian Smith also has an Exceedance colt from Dublin Lass (Lot 809) on Day 4. “His dam is a Sydney Stakes-winner and a lot of people are saying he’s one of the nicest Exceedance colts on the grounds,” Smith said on Friday. “I first took notice of Exceedance after he won the San Domenico as an early 3yo. It takes a good colt to win that race and then he beat the (Gr.1) Golden Rose winner Bivouac in the Coolmore.
“He’s by Exceed And Excel and looks the real deal. I booked in some quality mares after seeing him in the flesh.”
Willow Park’s Exceedance filly from Rosehill winner Reply Churlish (Lot 292) could have a Group 1 update just days after going through the sale-ring. The dam’s half-sister Babylon Berlin has opened a $4.20 second-favourite for the Telegraph Hcp (Gr.1, 1200m) at Trentham next Saturday.
“Babylon Berlin was foaled here for her breeder Scott Williams and she’s by Vinery’s wonderful sire All Too Hard,” Willow Park’s Glenn Burrows noted. “Scott retained her after losing the dam when Babylon Berlin was three months old.”
Trainer Ben Foote reports Babylon Berlin pulled up perfectly after being collared in the last stride by Imperatriz in the Railway Stakes (Gr.1, 1200m) at Te Rapa on New Year’s Day. “She ate up everything and it was as though she had just had a track gallop,” he said. “I’ve never been so excited and so disappointed at the same time as I was watching the Railway.
“We will go to Telegraph and after that I would like to take her to across to Australia and show them how good she really is.”
