Straight Shorts - Friday May 23 - Ole Kirk share goes to auction, Isti's Magic moment, Storm Boy in Ireland debut, D'Argento fee unchanged, key racing staff appointments

In today's edition of Straight Shorts, a share in leading first-season sire Ole Kirk will be auctioned at Magic Millions, Isti Star wins $1 million Gold Coast feature, Storm Boy is set to debut for Ballydoyle, Bowness keeps D'Argento at same service fee, personnel changes at Te Akau and Lindsay Park.

Ole Kirk share up for auction

A share in Australia’s leading first-season sire Ole Kirk will be offered at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale on Tuesday.

The 1 per cent share in the Vinery Stud stallion, who is the sire of Magic Millions 2YO Classic winner O’ Ole, Breeders’ Plate winner King Kirk and the unbeaten stakes winner Legacy Bound, is the latest addition to the breeding stock section of the National sale series staged on the Gold Coast over the next 12 days.

"This represents a great opportunity in a young stallion that we have always believed in and who is now demonstrating how important to our industry he could be," Vinery bloodstock manager Adam White said. 

"This horse is fully booked for the coming season and I'm sure there are many breeders out there that will identify the chance to utilise a young stallion on the way up.”

As a result of the precocity shown by Ole Kirk’s first crop of two-year-olds, the sire son of Written Tycoon had his service fee increased to $99,000 (inc GST) this year.

Ole Kirk has sired 11 winners from 22 runners, with four of them successful at stakes level.

Isti’s Magic moment

Isti Star delivered her breeders and owners Yarramalong a massive thrill, winning the $1 million  Magic Millions National 2YO Classic (1000m) at the Gold Coast on Friday evening.

The daughter of Better Than Ready, the Lyndhurst Stud-based stallion of which Yarramalong’s Richard Foster is the largest shareholder, Isti Star rode the pace and showed superior turn of foot under Michael Rodd to defeat Prince Tycoon and Secret Sort.

It proved a marquee success for her trainer Paul Shailer.

“I’m thrilled to bits. So proud of her because she's been through a lot, and obviously she was identified early on as a horse with immense talent, and we thought we could win Magic Millions 2YO (January), but it just went terribly wrong, and she's also suffered some allergies, and she was shin-sore, so we just had to put her aside and be patient,” Shailer said.

“I'm very thankful to the ownership group who have been so patient with her.”

It was the filly’s fourth start, having broken her maiden in a race at Ipswich earlier this month.

She was passed in shy of her $140,000 reserve as a yearling and is raced by Yarramalong as part of a broader syndicate.

She is one of two winners from Redoute’s Choice mare Istiraaha, a half-sister to Group 1 winner Rewaaya.

Storm Boy ready for first test under Aidan O’Brien

Six months after bidding farewell to Australian racing, high-profile colt Storm Boy is on the cusp of making a northern hemisphere debut.

Storm Boy, the 2024 Magic Millions 2YO Classic winner and Golden Slipper placegetter, will have his first start for Aidan O’Brien at The Curragh on early Sunday morning (AEST).

Majority owned by Coolmore since a highly publicised deal between the Millions and the Slipper, Storm Boy will take his place in the Greenlands Stakes over 1200m.

He is a 7/4 favourite to kick off his Ballydoyle career with a win against eight rivals as O’Brien uses the Group 2 race as a potential stepping stone to a Royal Ascot appearance for the son of Justify.

Ryan Moore will be reunited with Storm Boy after riding the colt into third place in the Golden Slipper in what turned out to be the youngster’s first defeat.

During 10 starts for co-trainer Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, Storm Boy won five races and banked more than $3.5 million in prize money.

The winning purse for the Greenlands Stakes is $A126,000. The race will start at 12.05am on Sunday (AEST).

Unchanged fee for D’Argento

Southern NSW farm Bowness Stud has resisted the temptation to increase the service fee of its sole stallion, the emerging D’Argento.

With six stakes horses to his name, including South Australian Derby runner-up Statuario, D’Argento has made an encouraging start to his stud career as the sire of 21 individual first crop winners to date.

Despite the promising beginning, Bowness’ James Daly has elected to keep D’Argento’s service fee at $16,500 (inc GST) for the upcoming breeding season.

“We’re thrilled with how the progeny of D’Argento have performed so far on the track, and it’s a credit to the trainers who have given them the time they need to perform,” Daly said.

"Given the challenging conditions many breeders are facing, and despite his impressive racetrack results this year, we’ve chosen to keep D’Argento’s service fee unchanged from previous seasons. We’re confident that he will once again receive strong support from mare owners.”

Status quo for Lovatsville

Stud newcomer Lovatsville, the Victorian farm established by Sam White last year, will keep four resident stallions at the same service fees this coming season.

Having added Group 1-winning two-year-old Move To Strike, a well-bred son of I Am Invincible to its roster for 2025 at a fee of $16,500 (inc GST), Lovatsville barnmates Royal Meeting ($22,000), Fierce Impact ($13,750), Generation ($11,000) and Gold Trip ($8,800) will maintain the status quo.

White said while Lovatsville had kept service fees the same as last year, the stud was also open to select deals and offers to assist broodmare owners.

“We are conscious that times are tough and we need to support each other. Small breeders are the backbone of the game, and our attitude towards business is reflective of that understanding. We want everyone to win,” he said. 

Royal Meeting, the sire of last season’s Blue Diamond winner Hayasugi, covered his biggest book of mares so far, serving 129 mares in 2024.

“Royal Meeting has got good numbers coming through and recently made his mark in Hong Kong,” White said. 

“His fee remains the same because he’s had a 2-year-old Group 1 winner in his first crop, which is difficult to achieve. He’s shown he can do it and has more to follow in the coming months. Like all of our established horses however, we are open to doing deals with clients to assist in the economic climate.”

Team changes for Te Akau and Lindsay Park

Two of Australasia’s premier stables, trans-Tasman operation Te Akau and the Hayes family’s Lindsay Park, have announced key staffing changes.

Te Akau has promoted Reece Trumper to assistant trainer in New Zealand, with Michael Gray stepping into the racing manager’s role previously occupied by Trumper.

Gray spent time with trainer John O’Shea in Sydney before working in the handicapping department for New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing.

Meanwhile, Lindsay Park has appointed Kiwi Annabel Adams as its Pakenham-based assistant trainer. She will take over from Sarah Fanin, effective from Sunday.

A Godolphin Flying Start graduate, Adams most recently worked for trainer Jessica Harrington in Ireland while she’s also worked for Tony and Lyn Prendergast at Zetland Lodge and with Stephen Autridge and Kris Shailer at Valachi Racing at Matamata.

Tabcorp’s new retail strategy raises pub questions

Tabcorp is reportedly set to spend millions of dollars upgrading wagering facilities at pubs and clubs, but also proposes ending payments to hotels for hosting betting terminals.

An article in the Australian Financial Review on Friday quoted Tabcorp chief executive Gillon McLachlan as saying the business wanted to prioritise the retail experience, including the 3700 venues which host betting terminals across Australia.

“This investment will make pubs and clubs busier and is at the heart of our business,” McLachlan said. “We will be injecting unprecedented levels of promotions and new initiatives into our retail network over the next 12 months as we aim to revitalise our retail offering.”

However, the move, which includes introducing a minimum wagering turnover threshold for pubs, has drawn concern from the Australian Hotels Association. 

In a note to its members, the AHA said it could “have a material impact” on the viability of PubTABs. It is specifically concerned about smaller country pubs.

Tabcorp has also said it would spend more than $20 million extra on generosities – wagering credits and special offers – available to customers betting in pubs and clubs in the next financial year as it bids to leverage its retail monopoly throughout most of Australia.

McLachlan told the AFR that the proposal would create “the biggest upgrade to our retail network in the company’s history”.

“We want to grow the retail network and work transparently with our partners to create alignment on a growth strategy that creates better commercial outcomes for venues,” he said.

Alabama Express share catalogued for Inglis Digital

A share in promising stallion Alabama Express and stakes-winning Too Darn Hot three-year-old colt Perspiration headline the latest Inglis Digital Online Sale.

From two crops of racing age, the Yulong-based Alabama Express has had 12 stakes horses from his first 83 runners including the three-time Group 1-winning filly Treasurethe Moment - currently rated one of the best three-year-olds in Australia - as well as the four-time stakes winner and twice Group 1-placed Alabama Lass and stakes winners Glasgow Lass and Discretion Rules.

Alabama Express covered 223 mares in 2024 and will stand at Yulong this year at a service fee of $66,000 (inc GST).

Talented colt Perspiration, who is trained by Ciaron Maher, won the Listed Heritage Stakes at Rosehill in the spring, having won twice from just six starts and has had the better of high-class horses such as Storm Boy, Feroce, Gatsby’s and Tropicus.

In total the May (Late) Sale has 347 entries – 152 racehorses (87 race fillies), 87 broodmares, 43 shares, 42 weanlings, 20 yearlings and 3 unbroken stock.

Bidding closes from 10am on Wednesday.

Australian trainer Sizes up HK Group 1 win with two runners

Trying to win the Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup for the first time in 21 years, John Size is confident Ensued and Bundle Award are poised to perform strongly in Hong Kong’s final Group 1 race of the season at Sha Tin on Sunday.

Ensued, who ran fourth behind Giavellotto, Dubai Honour and Stellenbosch in the Hong Kong Vase before finishing fourth behind Tastiera in the QEII Cup (2000m) on 27 April, will be ridden by seven-time Hong Kong champion jockey Zac Purton.

“Ensued is going alright. It was a good run that day in the Vase, the winner was too good for him. He ran as well as anything else in the race and he’s gone on with that. He’s raced well since and he’s had a pretty good season,” Size said.

“He ran well in the QEII (Cup) and he’s done well after it. He looks good. He should run a good race.”

A four-time winner in Hong Kong up to 2000m, Ensued will attempt to provide Size with his first win in the Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup since Super Kid, who scored under Shane Dye in 2004.

Bundle Award will be ridden by Andrea Atzeni after teaming with Purton for a slender victory in the Group 3 Queen Mother Memorial Cup Handicap on May 4.