The All Too Hard – More Than Ready cross has received another boost on the eve of the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale following a blistering Group 2 victory by Wellington in Hong Kong.
Wellington (5g All Too Hard – Mihiri by More Than Ready) accelerated from eight lengths off the speed to win The Sprint Cup (Gr.2, 1200m) at Sha Tin on Sunday. Making light of top-weight (58kg), he reeled in the leaders with an awesome 400m sectional (21.68s) to score by a neck from Sight Success (Magnus).
“He’s the best sprinter in Hong Kong and was carrying quite a big penalty today,” trainer Richard Gibson told South China Morning Post. “The stats were against us but he’s been training so well and I thought he showed some class and style once again.”
Vinery sire All Too Hard has combined with the stud’s legendary shuttler More Than Ready (USA) for 38 winners at a 70% strike-rate. Star Sydney mare Forbidden Love enhanced that cross with Group 1 victories in the Canterbury Stakes (1300m) and George Ryder Stakes (1500m) last month.
Vinery (as agent) offers the only All Too Hard yearling at the Inglis Easter Sale on Wednesday. Catalogued as Lot 272 and selling on the second day at Riverside Stables, the filly is the first foal of More Than Ready mare Manasari who is a half-sister Japanese Group 3 winner Fiano Romano (Fastnet Rock).
Wellington is on track to defend his Chairman’s Sprint Prize (Gr.1, 1200m) title at the Champions Day meeting on April 24. The only winners to go back-to-back since the turn of the century have been Silent Witness (2004-05) and Lucky Nine (2013-14)
Winning jockey Alexis Badel realised right from the beginning Wellington was special. “As soon as you sit on a horse like this you know. He has that explosive turn of foot that can make up a lot of ground over a short period of time. That’s his true quality.
“I was happy to come back a little bit if the pace was good enough. I followed Hot King Prawn and knew Sight Success would be hard to run down at the weights. But Wellington is back to his best and was brilliant through the line.”
Kia Ora Stud bred and sold Wellington for $70,000 at the 2018 Gold Coast Magic Millions. His dam Mihiri foaled an All Too Hard filly in August but wasn’t bred back this season.
Wellington is the flag-bearer among 11 individual winners by All Too Hard in Hong Kong. His Frankie Lor-trained gelding My Ecstatic broke through this season with an all-the-way victory at Sha Tin last Sunday week, March 27.
My Ecstatic is out of More Than Ready mare More Radiant and was purchased by Ross Lao (Upper Bloodstock) for $100,000 from Vinery at the 2018 Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale. He has a weanling half-sister from the first crop of Vinery sire Exceedance.
