Black Caviars half brother also shines

| Mon 12 March, 2012

story The West:

Superstar Black Caviar's half-brother All Too Hard's value as a potential stallion soared with his impressive win in the Group Two Sires' Produce Stakes at Flemington.

A $1,025,000 yearling purchase at the Australian Easter Yearling Sale in Sydney last year by Nathan Tinkler's Patinack Farm Racing syndicate, the two-year-old is already worth considerably more than that.

He has raced twice for Saturday's 1400m victory which followed his win in the Listed Talindert Stakes (1100m) at Flemington last month.

"It's a crazy thing, she's freakish and the best but he's probably worth more money than her," co-trainer Wayne Hawkes said.

"He showed them a clean set of heels and onwards and upwards he's off to Sydney now.

"All he has to do now is win a Group One. It doesn't have to be the Slipper, just a Group One.

"If he makes it to that level gee whiz. He's not going to be sold obviously but he's going to be worth a lot of money."

Trainers John Hawkes and sons Wayne and Michael decided to bypass last month's Group One Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) with the Casino Prince colt to save him for the VRC Sires' Produce.

"Caulfield probably wasn't his right track, we wanted a big track," Wayne Hawkes said.

Ridden by Dwayne Dunn, All Too Hard ($4.60) was 11th of the 14 runners at the 800m but when asked to quicken he strode out beautifully and scored by four lengths from Pronto Pronto ($7) with Road Trippin ($31) a short half head away third.

"He's not a natural two-year-old, he's doing this on raw ability and he's going to be a serious three-year-old," Hawkes said.

The stable has already earmarked the Group One Caulfield Guineas for the colt in the spring.

John Hawkes was keeping his options open on a start in the $3.5 million Golden Slipper Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill on April 7.

"We'll see what happens but we won't rush into anything. We'll just see how he progresses from the run," he said.

"He may or may not, it'll be fifty-fifty but the Sires' (Produce Stakes) was always what I liked for him and maybe the Champagne (Stakes). We won't rule anything out.

"From day one he has always wanted to be a racehorse and you have a lot of colts but he is one of those special colts."

Dunn, has who ridden the colt in both runs, already has a huge opinion of him.
"It's hard to go off too soon but obviously with his pedigree he has got a fair bit to live up to, but he's done everything we've asked of him, so it was just an awesome win today," he said.

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