Going back to the source of success is a proven formula in the bloodstock industry and there’s no better foundation for Ole Kirk’s first-crop yearlings than those bred and reared by Rick Jamieson at Gilgai Farm in Victoria.
Jamieson brings four Ole Kirk yearlings – two colts and two fillies – from his Nagambie nursery to the Gold Coast Magic Millions Sale in January. And the quartet have had the good fortune to be raised on the same rich alluvial river flats as Australian racing icon Black Caviar and her Champion half-brother All Too Hard.
Ole Kirk stands alongside All Too Hard at Vinery Stud. They were both Group 1 Caulfield Guineas winners and were both subsequently voted Champion 3yo Colts of Australia.
“He’s 16 hands and an athlete so he’s my sort of stallion,” Jamieson told Thoroughbred Daily News shortly before his first book at Vinery in May 2021. “I first felt he might make a good horse after winning the Talindert Stakes first-up as a 2yo at Flemington.
“He matured from that prep into the spring to win the Caulfield Guineas and that’s a characteristic of the family. As a rule, they’re more powerful in their 3yo and 4yo seasons. It’s a family that just can’t be ignored.
“All Too Hard is doing a super job at Vinery. He’s by Casino Prince and Ole Kirk is by Written Tycoon. It’s the same bottom-line but a different sireline which will give this bloke an edge. Written Tycoon is a sireline of the future!”
Jamieson backed Ole Kirk again when paying $560,000 for Boogie Dancer (Sooboog) at the Inglis Digital Sale in September. A Group 2 winner of the MRC Thousand Guineas Prelude (1400m) at Caulfield last season, she is now trained by Ciaron Maher and David Eustace and will be booked to Ole Kirk next year following a Group 1 campaign at the 2024 Brisbane winter carnival.
Gilgai Farm manager Kelly Skillecorn told ANZ Bloodstock News that Jamieson believed Boogie Dancer was a perfect match for Ole Kirk. “Our vet Simon Robinson told us Boogie Dancer was the best-looking yearling he had ever seen. Rick loved her pedigree and said if she’s that good-looking, we better get her for him.”
Skillecorn remembers Ole Kirk from his early days at Gilgai Farm. “He’s amazing and, if anything, his Magic Millions yearlings are more forward than him at the same stage. We kept him back for the Melbourne Premier Sale.
“Our Gold Coast yearlings are the right types for a January Sale. When Barry Bowditch and Dane Robinson came down for the Magic Millions inspections, they picked out those four in the paddock without knowing the pedigrees!”
Lot 333: Ole Kirk – Vellor (Sepoy) Filly from a Group 2 family of Magic Night Stakes winners. “She’s well-balanced with a beautiful shoulder and looks like she will go early, too.”
Lot 828: Ole Kirk – Kozakov (Lonhro) Colt from an unraced daughter of another G2 Magic Night Stakes winner Downhill Racer. “Will take a bit more time than the filly but he’s strong and did impress during our inspections by Gai Waterhouse.”
Lot 835: Ole Kirk – La Passe (Street Sense) Filly out of a Group 2 winner at Flemington and Caulfield. “Dam has two winners by All Too Hard from two to race. Best foal from the dam to date and looks very sharp.”
Lot 994 Ole Kirk – Music Bay (Choisir) August colt from a G2 Queen of the South Stakes winner. “He’s as good a first foal as you will see.”
Gilgai Farm’s consignment to the Gold Coast Magic Millions comprises nine yearlings and they will be available for inspection at Stable QF.
