Ole Kirk is one of the Hunter Valley’s most popular young stallions with breeders and his first foals will also resonate with buyers at the Inglis Australian Weanling Sale on Monday and Tuesday.
He has covered 330 mares in his first two seasons at $55,000 (inc GST) ensuring Vinery Stud will once again hoist the ‘Book Full’ sign at the same service fee this year.
Ole Kirk is one of 20 stallions testing the market for the first time at Riverside Stables with vendors like Linda Monds (Tyreel Stud) and Senga Bissett (Ashleigh Thoroughbreds) backing the Group 1 winning son of Champion sire Written Tycoon.
“He was a superior racehorse and he caught my eye at Vinery’s stallion parades,” Monds said this week. “It made sense to send one of my better mares and I was confident he would sire quality foals although you can never be certain with a new stallion.”
Tyreel Stud’s colt out of Tender (Lot 304) proves that confidence wasn’t misplaced. The dam won at Warwick Farm and Canterbury for trainer Joe Pride and is from the exquisite family of Coolmore Classic (Gr.1, 1500m) winner Kapchat (Centaine). “I love Ole Kirk’s pedigree and this colt has a page, too,” Monds added. “He has a beautiful action, a lovely demeanour and is a very strong individual.”
Ashleigh Thoroughbreds has a colt and filly by Ole Kirk coming down from Scone and Bissett describes their sire in a tone that matches Monds. “Ole Kirk has a stallion’s pedigree and you couldn’t ask for anything more of him as a racehorse. Our two are quality foals. They’re correct and sound with lovely temperaments. I can’t fault either of them and the Stratuzy filly (Lot 284) is a stunning type.”
The So You Beauty colt (Lot 260) has two close relations capable of Sale-eve updates on Friday and Saturday. His dam’s younger half-sister Lyrical Beauty (Your Song) is making her debut in the Miss Finland 2YO Hcp (1000m) at Muswellbrook. And her younger half-brother Fox Fighter (Foxwedge) is backing up in the in the Henry Noonan Hcp (1200m) at Rosehill on Saturday after flying home for fourth in the Hawkesbury Gold Rush (1100m) last weekend.
Holbrook Thoroughbreds offers an Ole Kirk colt from No Looking Back (Lot 160) and a filly out of Amarela (Lot 358). “The colt is an attractive type and I’ve been very happy with way he’s handled the sale prep,” Holbrook’s Julie Harris said. “He’s from a 2yo family and looks like he will go early, too.”
His dam No Looking Back (Redoute’s Choice) was runner-up in the 2012 Magic Millions 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m) and the Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr.1, 1200m) behind Vinery homebred Samaready (More Than Ready). She trained on for Gai Waterhouse to win the following year’s Carrington Stakes (LR, 1100m) at Randwick and among her four winners at stud is Written Tycoon’s Randwick winner Fortune Seeker.
The Ole Kirk colt’s second-dam Mirror Mirror (Dehere) had won the 2006 Magic Millions 2YO Classic with Clarry Conners and the prolific black-type “Tennessee” family props up his page.
Rheinwood Pastoral’s Dee Foster predicts their Ole Kirk colt (Lot 417) will catch the eye of all astute buyers. “He’s a sharp colt and is beautifully put together with good hip and shoulder angles and he covers the ground with purpose and agility.”
His dam Cheyenne Sue (Zizou) is a half-sister to Group 1 winners Mazu (Doomben 10,000) and Headway (Coolmore Stud Stakes) and she’s already foaled Caulfield Stakes winner Let Me Sleep On It (Manhattan Rain). “He’s an athlete with abundant scope,” Foster added. “And he will be an exciting addition to any yearling draft next year.”
Twin Hills Stud owner Olly Tait is another Ole Kirk vendor with a foal that will attract pinhookers. His filly is from NZ-bred mare She Goes To Rio (Lot 237) who won a Canberra Guineas (LR, 1400m) for Anthony Cummings. “She’s a beautiful filly and is already a good size,” Tait said. “There’s still development to come and I can see her growing into a lovely yearling.”
Ole Kirk vendors will be on-site and parading their foals at Riverside Stables on Friday.
