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Colt becomes Written Tycoon’s tenth Group 1 winner.
Ole Kirk's (3 c ex Naturale by Bel Esprit) place in the future Australian stallion ranks looked all but sealed as the son of Written Tycoon (Iglesia) prevailed in nail-biting finish to take out the Golden Rose Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) at Rosehill on Saturday and in the process became the now Arrowfield Stud-based sire's tenth Group 1 winner.
The pace was set by pre-race favourite Rothfire (Rothesay) and as the field entered the straight he had already put daylight between himself and the rest of the field. But the brigade had their sights set on the leader and as he began to empty, the Team Hawkes-trained Ole Kirk emerged out of the pack, but he was not alone towing his stablemate North Pacific (Brazen Beau) along beside him.
As the pair approached the line Ole Kirk was able to lift his effort to come away with a head. Dual Group 1 winner King's Legacy (Redoute's Choice) finished eye-catchingly well a further three-quarters of a length away in third.
Rothfire - who was looking to add a second Group 1 to his already glowing CV - finished fourth and was dismounted by Jim Byrne on the track and found to be 3 / 5 lame.
Ole Kirk was bred by Gilgai Farm and purchased out of their draft by by International Thoroughbred Solutions at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale for $675,000 - the second most expensive yearling sold at the auction that year, bettered only by North Pacific, who was purchased for a sale-topping $800,000.
The colt hails from Gilgai Farm's best known family, being out of unraced Bel Esprit (Royal Academy) mare Naturale, who is herself out of Helsinge (Desert Sun), making her a sister to multiple Group 1-winning champion mare Black Caviar (Bel Esprit), while she is also a half-sister to multiple Group 1 winner and now Vinery Stud-based sire All Too Hard (Casino Prince).
Helsinge herself is out of Group 2 winner and Group 1-placed Scandinavia (Snippets), who also produced Group 1 winner and Sun Stud-based sire Magnus (Flying Spur), Group 2-winning pair Wilander (Exceed And Excel) and Scandiva (Fastnet Rock) and Listed winner Arctic Flight (Flying Spur).
Naturale's two-year-old filly by Not A Single Doubt (Redoute's Choice) is now named Gimmie Par and is in training with Black Caviar's former trainer Peter Moody and the mare is back in foal to Written Tycoon.
The offers for the colt will no doubt be flooding in from every angle and co-owner Neil Werrett said he now regarded him as an extremely valuable stallion prospect.
"The breeding and the whole thing that has gone into this race." said Werrett. "I can't believe we have won it. This family is very special and if someone wants to give us $50 million they can stand it.
"As soon as I saw the page and I remembered Rick [Jamieson] had told me about this sister to Black Caviar way back, and how unfortunate it couldn't race. So when it was coming up in Melbourne, I asked the Hawkeses if they had looked at it and they said it was on their list to buy. I said I want to buy it.
"I got Mark Player to buy for me because I didn't want people to think the Hawkeses were buying for me."
Werrett said the win was made extra special given a lot of his family were also in the colt.
"I have put my sister, Colin Madden and Brett from work into her and Rick stayed in. That makes it more special."
Meanwhile, Gilgai's Kelly Skillecorn said the colt was very immature at the sales and was effusive in his praise for Team Hawkes for their handlining of the colt.
"That family keeps getting better and better," said Skillecorn. "He was an immature colt at the sales and I'm just so grateful he ended up with the Hawkes' who are so patient with these colts and there's none better in turning a yearling colt into a stallion and they've done it again.
"Just take a look at his page, there's none better in the studbook. Black Caviar, All Too Hard, Scandinavia, Magnus, now you can add Ole Kirk to that. Wow.
"The mare is back in foal to Written Tycoon too which is a huge result now especially."
The victory in the Group 1 Ole Kirk capped off a wonderful few days for Written Tycoon, after his daughter Pippie added a second elite level race to her CV in the AJ Moir Stakes (Gr 1, 1000m) at Moonee Valley on Friday.
Written Tycoon was relocated from Woodside Park in Victoria to Arrowfield Stud in the Hunter Valley this season and John Messara said the stallion was deserving of the wider opportunities gained from standing in the Hunter Valley.
"We're thrilled to have Written Tycoon on our 2020 roster, and it is exciting to see what we thought was ahead of him now starting to unfold," said Messara.
"He truly deserves the wider opportunity he's receiving at Arrowfield this year and we're very grateful to Woodside Park Stud and the Written Tycoon syndicate for working with us to make that possible. He's serving a tremendous book this year, including around 40 of our own mares, so it's only onwards and upwards for him."
The stallion is currently covering mares at a fee of $77,000 (inc GST).
