Ole Kirk in select Vinery Stud company as 2025 service fee announced

Ole Kirk has got a long way to go to match the feats of the late, great More Than Ready, but Vinery Stud’s Adam White couldn’t resist comparisons between the former shuttler and its new kid on the block.

In announcing Ole Kirk’s service fee would jump from $55,000 to $99,000 (all fees inc GST) this year, the long-time Vinery bloodstock manager suggested that the dual Group 1 winner’s start at stud was reminiscent of More Than Ready’s first crop in 2004/05.

Ole Kirk leads the Australian first-season sires’ title with 10 individual winners, two clear of Farnan, and holds a $300,000 lead by earnings over Coolmore’s high-profile shuttler Wootton Bassett.

“He’s off to a terrific start and it takes you back to when More Than Ready was starting out really, when his first crop hit the track,” White told The Straight.

“He had to get a couple of stakes winners before Christmas and then followed up with another one soon afterwards.”

Ole Kirk’s charge to the top of the freshman sires’ premiership was immediate with King Kirk winning the Group 3 Breeders’ Plate and O’ Ole runner-up in the Gimcrack on the same day.

The Bjorn Baker-trained O’ Ole subsequently won the Magic MIllions 2YO Classic and, more recently, Prestige Forever won a Listed race at Moonee Valley.

And not since a six-year period from 2008 to 2013 when More Than Ready’s southern hemisphere service fee ranged from $99,000 to $148,500, has Vinery had a sire standing at such a high fee.

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At the same stage as Ole Kirk, More Than Ready’s first southern hemisphere-bred crop had produced four stakes winners including Group 1 Champagne Stakes winner Carry On Cutie and Blue Diamond Prelude winner Perfectly Ready.

White revealed Vinery management debated for weeks about what fee to stand Ole Kirk at this year having canvassed breeders at the Inglis Easter sale, but the figure wasn’t settled until after last Saturday’s Champagne Stakes where the sire was represented by Next Jen.

“He was certainly going to go up but there was a lot sort of happening during the carnival and … we really wanted to just see how she (Next Jen) went before making the final decision, but $99,000 is where we landed,” White said.

“We’ve had a lot of interest in the horse over the last couple of months and we’ve got a lot of applications there for the horse that we need to sort through. That’s what we’ll be doing in the next week or so.”

Ole Kirk, who has 99 yearlings, 95 weanlings and covered 172 mares last year, leads a Vinery roster in which Exceedance ($33,000) remains at an unchanged service fee and Doncaster Mile winner Stefi Magnetica’s sire All Too Hard ($27,500) had his fee reduced.

Star Turn ($16,500) has also had his fee cut, as has Headwater ($6,600) while Hawaii Five Oh ($16,500) will stay at the same fee as he enters his second season.’

“I think we’ve priced them well for the job they’re doing and where they’re at in their careers at the moment,” White said of the Vinery stallion roster.

“We’ve got some fairly solid proven horses there now and a couple of young ones in Exceedance and Ole Kirk really coming through the stallion ranks quite quickly.”

After 17 seasons at stud, Casino Prince has been pensioned, retiring as the sire of 21 stakes winners, two Group 1 winners and over $66 million in earnings. He will live out his days at Vinery nearby fellow pensioner Testa Rossa.