Spendthrift’s Dirty Work to make Group 1 bid before retiring to stand on roster
Spendthrift Australia will welcome exciting new recruit Dirty Work (Written Tycoon) to their roster in 2021, but not before he has a crack at adding a Group 1 victory to his CV by way of The Goodwood (1200m) at Morphettville on May 15.
The Australian arm of the B. Wayne Hughes-founded American-based operation will stand the dynamic son of Written Tycoon (Iglesia) alongside foundation stallion Swear (Redoute’s Choice), Overshare (I Am Invincible) and Gold Standard (Sebring) as well as Spendthrift’s US shuttlers Omaha Beach (War Front) and Vino Rosso (Curlin), who return after successful first seasons in Victoria.
The Hawkes Racing-trained Dirty Work flew from the rear of the field to win the Schillaci Stakes (Gr 2, 1100m) at Caulfield in October last year, clocking a lightning 32.93 secs for the last 600 metres, and followed that up with a Group 1 placing in the Manikato Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) having already broken the track record for the 1100 metres at Kensington (1min 1.74secs).
His imminent arrival to the breeding barn this year comes at a time when his sire is challenging for a first Sires Premiership, while Written Tycoon’s all-conquering sire-son Capitalist leads both the first season and two-year-old leading sire charts.
Garry Cuddy, general manager for Spendthrift Farm Australia, believes he is a stallion that anyone would desire on their roster, as he chases a valuable Group 1 victory before retirement.
“He’s a horse that’s been competitive at the highest level in Sydney, so he’d be competitive wherever he goes and I think he’ll be competitive in that race (The Goodwood),” he said.
“It would mean the world to us (to win the Goodwood). It would be our first Group 1 here in Australia so there’s that, as well as the fact that we have a sprinting son of Written Tycoon on the roster, I’m sure nobody in their right mind would turn that down.
“Written Tycoon is airborne and is the best stallion in the country at the moment, and Capitalist is probably the best young stallion in the country at the moment.
“Who wouldn’t want to stand him and who wouldn’t want to breed to a son (of Written Tycoon), especially to one that is as fast as Dirty Work.”
Out of winning Ad Valorem (Danzig) mare Maidel, a half-sister to stakes winners Gamay (Pierro) and Meidung (Bernadini), Dirty Work was an $800,000 graduate from the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale and the rising five-year-old will become the third yearling purchase by Spendthrift to go on and stand on their roster in the last five years after Swear and Overshare.
Although a fee will not be set until after The Goodwood on May 15, Cuddy believes he’ll offer an attractive proposition for breeders looking to share in the success of the sireline.
“The beauty of owning and racing horses like him is that after they’ve had as much success on the track that he has, he hardly owes us anything so we can stand these horses at competitive fees and let the breeders support him and hopefully we can all get a win along the way,” said Cuddy.
“We go to the sales to buy colts, and in this case an expensive colt, with the intention of having them on the roster in the years to come and we’re lucky enough now that three of our six horses on our roster this season are horses that we have purchased ourselves as yearlings and had success on the racetrack.”
The first of those to take their place on the Spendthrift roster was Swear, as the Group 3 winner and Spring Champion Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) runner-up welcomed his first two-year-olds to the track this year, with his handful of juvenile runners certainly catching the eye.
From three to race Swear has posted two impressive winners, led by his most expensive first-crop yearling Faulds, an $80,000 purchase for Hawkes Racing, who defeated subsequent stakes placegetter Pegasi (Star Turn) when flashing home from the rear at Geelong to win by a length and a quarter.
The son of Redoute’s Choice (Danehill) will stand at an unchanged fee of $5,500 this year.
“Swear couldn’t have started any better,” said Cuddy. “He’s only had the three runners but to have two winners from that is a great achievement. I guess we could say he’s the leading first season sire with winners to runners but look, he had some lovely stock at the sales last year.
“We speak to the trainers that have got horses in the stable by him, and they’ve said all the way through that they’ll be much better as three-year-olds, so with a bit of luck, we’re going to have a bit of fun with his progeny over the next 12 months.”
When a freshman stallion is producing outstanding stock it doesn’t take long for the word to get around.
Overshare was represented by his first crop of yearlings this year which sold for up to $180,000 as Hawkes Racing purchased a filly out of Spirited Away (Awesome Again) from the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, and the stallion once again covered a strong number of mares, as 140 visited the son of I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit) in 2020, while he has 135 foals on the ground born last year.
“He’s a perfect example of a horse that had nice foals on the ground and the Chinese whispers started and the numbers started to grow,” said Cuddy.
“It was fantastic for us and fantastic for him. He’s a very good looking horse and a very well bred horse so he deserves every opportunity.”
Overshare, who will stand at an unchanged $11,000, has also been a beneficiary of the innovative Spendthrift Breed Secure scheme, offering breeders the opportunity to send their mare to a nominated Spendthrift stallion with nothing to pay until the resulting foal is sold, while, unlike a foal share scheme, the breeder retains the profits after the service fee.
“It is probably the most breeder-friendly breeding program in the game,” said Cuddy. “We’re waiting until these foals go through the auction ring, and then the first money goes to the client and we get paid after that.
“If it’s not the best breeding program out there, I’d love to be told about one that’s better.”
An exciting addition to the Breed Secure scheme in 2021 is Spendthrift’s four-and-a-quarter-length Breeders’ Cup Classic (Gr 1, 10f) winner Vino Rosso, who returns for shuttle duties along with two-time Grade 1 winner Omaha Beach.
The pair were well received by Australian breeders in their first season shuttling to the southern hemisphere last year, and Cuddy is looking forward to their return having covered quality books of mares in Kentucky.
“We announced that both of these horses would be coming last year and the attraction from breeders was instant,” said Cuddy. “We worked really hard to get both of those horses to what we deemed was a full book. They were both limited to cover 100 mares after covering big books of mares in America.
“Both of them have had fantastic support in both hemispheres, both by us and by our supporters so both will be given every opportunity.
“A horse like Vino Rosso, we’ve only got to look at the races that he’s won and the style that he did it in, to know that he’s a serious racehorse.
“To anyone that hasn’t made their mind up with what to do, if they’re looking for an outcross stallion, Vino Rosso on Breed Secure is certainly not the silliest idea.”
Vino Rosso and Omaha Beach will remain at unchanged fees of $13,750 and $22,000 respectively, while completing the line up is Gold Standard, whose first yearlings hit sales rings this year, and he will stand at an unchanged fee of $5,500 and again form part of the Breed Secure scheme.
Spendthrift Australia roster
2021 2020
Dirty Work (Written Tycoon) TBC New
Omaha Beach (War Front) $22,000 Unchanged
Vino Rosso (Curlin)** $13,750 Unchanged
Overshare (I Am Invincible)** $11,000 Unchanged
Swear (Redoute’s Choice)** $5,500 Unchanged
Gold Standard (Sebring)** $5,500 Unchanged
*all fees inclusive of GST
** Breed Secure scheme