England trip off for All Too Hard

Glamour colt All Too Hard will have plenty of time to settle into his new surroundings at Vinery Stud in the Hunter Valley before the start of the breeding season following the decision to call off his proposed trip to England.

all too hard

All Too Hard retired to stud after four Group 1 wins. Photo by Race Horse Photos Australia.

Vinery Stud’s Peter Orton announced yesterday that All Too Hard would be retired immediately and a chance to show off the multiple Group 1 winner in the Group 1 £250,000 The Queen Anne Stakes (1 mile) at Royal Ascot in June has been scrubbed.

Co-trainer Wayne Hawkes had Scone Race Club officials buzzing with excitement when he hinted that there was a possibility that All Too Hard could line up in the $500,000 Inglis 3yo Guineas (1400m) at Scone on May 18.

But this scenario has also been cancelled as well as the alternative of going to Brisbane for the Group 1 $500,000 Kirks Doomben Cup (2000m) at Doomben which is on the same day as Scone.

In the end Orton said that All Too Hard had nothing more to prove on the racetrack after collecting four Group 1 wins, including his final race when he beat a smart field in the weight for age $400,000 Yarraman Park All Aged Stakes (1400m) at Randwick on April 27.

“We thought long and hard about it, but the horse has got nothing left to prove,” Orton said.

“He’s the best three-year-old in the country, and the best of a very good lot. His ratings are up there with the best.

“There were two options – retire him or race another year. But this horse is a pretty important part of going forward for us as a stallion prospect, and there’s so much more as a stallion.”

All Too Hard’s retirement followings the that of his older half-sister the great mare Black Caviar who was retired recently after winning her twenty-fifth straight win in the Group 1 $1m Darley T J Smith Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on April 13.

And rival three year old Pierro was snapped up by Coolmore Australia to stand his first season at stud this Spring for a fee of $77,000 after owner Greg Kolivos called an end to his racing career after finishing second to Sacred Falls in the Group 1 $2m BMW Doncaster Mile (1600m) at Randwick on April 20.

All Too Hard and Pierro clashed on four occasions and even though the honours were evenly divided, Orton rates his colt as the better of the two.

“All Too Hard is the highest-rated three-year-old in the country,” Orton said.

“Pierro is a great horse, too … but if you look at what he (All Too Hard) has done and who he has beaten, he’s definitely the best. To win four Group 1s and run second in a Cox Plate, that’s a great effort.”

All Too Hard’s first season fee has been listed at $66,000 when he starts his stud duties in the Spring.

The Casino Prince colt earned over $2.2 million in prizemoney from seven wins from twelve starts including four Group 1s and a second to Ocean Park in last year’s Group 1 $3m Sportingbet Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley.

About The Author

Mark Mazzaglia

Mark is a passionate journalist with a life-time involvement in the racing industry. He spent many years as an analyst and form expert at the Courier Mail and also has hands-on experience working with some of Queensland’s top trainers.