In the two hours following Sydney’s first official two-year-old barrier trial session on Monday, the nominations team at Vinery Stud received at least a dozen new mare bookings to the stud’s fourth season sire Ole Kirk.

Ole Kirk

First crop juveniles by the 2020 Golden Rose and Caulfield Guineas winner - colt King Kirk (heat three) and filly O’ Ole (heat six) - won two of the eight heats conducted on Randwick’s Kensington track on Monday, prompting breeders searching for the next commercial sire success to switch to Ole Kirk based on the early public evidence of his first crop’s ability.

Golden Slipper winner Farnan, the high-priced acquisition who put Kia Ora Stud back in the stallion game, also sired a first-crop barrier trial winner with North England showing superior speed to take out heat seven and help his stud credentials.

For Vinery’s Adam White, the performance of King Kirk and O’Ole backed up the early feedback the stud had been receiving from horse breakers and trainers about the Ole Kirks.

The victory of King Kirk, a Rosari Farm-bred colt who was used as a pin-up horse as a foal, particularly delighted the Vinery team.

“He had a nice jump out last week, but he just looked like he might take a little bit of time and that he might be a preparation away, but he caught us by surprise a little bit today,” White said.

“It was just how well he tracked and how well he was travelling on the turn, he executed the finish really well, so it’s great to see.”

The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained King Kirk was a $200,000 Magic Millions weanling who was on-sold for $300,000 at the Gold Coast last January by Widden Stud and renowned pinhooking syndicate Redwall Bloodstock.

Less of a surprise to White was the performance by O’ Ole, a Gilgai Farm-bred filly who was purchased by her trainer Bjorn Baker and agent Jim Clarke for $325,000 from the Gold Coast.

“We knew the filly jumped out very well last week, O’ Ole, so that was good to see her do that in an official trial and demonstrate what talent she has got really,” he said.

“We got close enough to listen to Rachel (King, jockey) when she got off and her comments were that she has a great brain and is a straight-forward sort of filly, which will have her in good stead for the two-year-old race in 10 days’ time.”

O’Ole is expected to contest the Group 3 Gimcrack for the fillies on October 5 at Randwick and King Kirk could run in the colts and geldings’ Breeders’ Plate at Randwick on the same day.

The probable favourite for the Breeders’ could be King Kirk’s stablemate, the Newgate Farm, China Horse Club and Trilogy Racing-owned North England while the same connections also won heat one with Tuscany, the $1.55 million Inglis Easter brother to Group 2-winning sprinter Schwarz, by Zoustar. 

Baker could have at least two two-year-olds in the Gimcrack as Street Boss filly Strada Varenna demonstrated race smarts beyond her years to win heat four under jockey James McDonald.

Strada Varenna is owned by the Ladbrokes Racing Club and the Newgate Farm fillies syndicate which was established at the start of the year.

Because of the trial wins in Sydney by the two Ole Kirks, the stallion is almost assured of a full book in his fourth season, traditionally a hard year for studs to generate interest from risk-averse breeders.

“We don’t need too many more anyway, but a lot of people had mares hanging in the balance and off other busy horses, so we have been able to pick up a few mares that way,” White said. 

Ole Kirk’s sire Written Tycoon has crowned champion two-year-old sire last season, producing Golden Slipper winner Lady Of Camelot on New Zealand’s Karaka Millions and Sistema Stakes winner Velocious and White believes that bloodline may be a pointer to the next generation.

The Team Hawkes-trained Ole Kirk won the 2020 Talindert Stakes at Flemington at his first start in the February of his two-year-old year and ran third behind King’s Legacy in the Group 1 Champagne Stakes to round out his juvenile season.

Victoria also held two juvenile barrier trials at Cranbourne last week, with Ballarat trainers Tony and Calvin McEvoy dominating the two heats with ten of the 12 two-year-olds from the father-and-son stable.

Snitzel filly Hiatus won heat three and stablemate Odessa, a Rosemont-raced daughter of Zoustar, won heat four.

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