Vinery Stud’s All Too Hard continues to produce top-quality racehorses consistently. The four-time Group 1 winner is enjoying another successful season, highlighted by seasoned seven-time Group 1 winner Alligator Blood and rising star Stefi Magnetica. With nearly $11 million in season earnings, the dependable sire is ranked comfortably within the top 10 leading Australian sires for the third time in eight seasons.
• All Too Hard has sired 25 stakes winners and five Group 1 winners.
• All Too Hard has sired over 100 winners for the past six consecutive seasons.
• The average cost of All Too Hard’s stakes winners this season is $92,500.
• All Too Hard has been represented by a Group 1 winner for five consecutive seasons.
| 16/17 | 202 | 1 | $745,490 |
| 17/18 | 33 | 3 | $4,291,539 |
| 18/19 | 20 | 1 | $6,856,861 |
| 19/20 | 16 | 8 | $8,642,234 |
| 20/21 | 10 | 5 | $10,018,566 |
| 21/22 | 9 | 3 | $11,146,427 |
| 22/23 | 12 | 1 | $11,443,644 |
| 23/24 | 9 | 3 | $10,762,652 |
Table: All Too Hard’s General Sires Ranking/performance per season
Sitting ninth on this season’s Australian Sires Premiership, All Too Hard has seen a steady upward trajectory in his career since his first runners in 2016. His best season for stakes winners was in 2019/20, when he sired eight individual stakes winners, including Alligator Blood, Dawn Dawn, Behemoth, and Hard Landing. Two seasons ago, he also finished ninth on the sires premiership, with Group 1 victories from Forbidden Love, Wellington, Alligator Blood, and Behemoth.
The regally bred three-time Group 1 winner has sired stakes winners in five countries including Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, South Africa and Singapore. His headline horse is the four-time Group 1 winner Wellington who was a $70,000 purchase for Lauriston Thoroughbreds at the 2018 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. Accumulating over $12.4 million in earnings, Wellington has recouped earnings over 177 times his initial purchase price.
| Alligator Blood | G1 Might and Power S., G1 Underwood S. | 2018 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale | $55,000 |
| Stefi Magnetica | G1 Stradbroke H. | 2022 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale | $180,000 |
| Viva Vienna | Listed Canterbury Belle S. | 2022 Karaka Yearling Sale | $100,000 |
| Babylon Berlin | Listed Waikato TR Sprint H. | Not Offered | |
| Far Too Easy | Listed Lough Neagh S. | 2020 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale | $45,000 |
Table: All Too Hard’s stakes winners 2023/24 season
This season has been exceptional for All Too Hard, who is represented by five stakes winners, including two individual Group 1 winners. The popular Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Alligator Blood added the G1 Might and Power S. and G1 Underwood S. to his accolades this season, bringing his Group 1 tally to seven. The $55,000 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale graduate has collected connections over $8.1 million or over 147 times his initial purchase price.
Alligator Blood racing clear in the G1 Underwood S. | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
It is a similar story with Stefi Magnetica (All Too Hard) who just recently claimed the G1 Stradbroke Handicap after finishing runner-up in the G1 Surround S. earlier in the year. The three-time winner fetched well below the 2022 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale average when Cunningham Thoroughbreds/Clarke Bloodstock Pty Ltd (FBAA)/Bjorn Baker Racing parted with $180,000 for the future Group 1 winner and now highly-valuable breeding proposition.
Astute judge David Ellis selected Listed Canterbury Belle winner Viva Vienna (All Too Hard) at the 2022 New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka Yearling Sale for just NZ$100,000 (AU$91,900), while Listed Lough Neagh S. winner Far Too Easy (All Too Hard) was just $45,000 from the 2020 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. All Too Hard’s yearlings are among some of the most affordable of Australia’s commercial sires with a historical average of just over $100,000.
| 2 | 256 | 56 | 14 | 5 |
| 3 | 586 | 299 | 29 | 11 |
| 4 | 546 | 351 | 28 | 15 |
Table: All Too Hard’s progeny performance age
It’s no surprise to see All Too Hard’s progeny improving with age, as indicated by horses like Behemoth and Forbidden Love, who all hit their prime beyond their 3-year-old seasons.
However, he isn’t one-dimensional, having proven himself as a handy source of 2-year-old talent thanks to juvenile stakes winners like Hard Landing, Hard Rock Girl, and Curdled. His elite performers Alligator Blood and Forbidden Love won as 2-year-olds before going on to consistently produce at the elite level, demonstrating their versatility.
All Too Hard stands for $38,500 inc GST in 2024 | Standing at Vinery Stud
As 3-year-olds, progeny by All Too Hard start to really furnish. He is the sire of 11 individual 3-year-old stakes winners, including three elite level winners, all of whom were conceived from different crops. The success doesn’t stop there, with his progeny racing on at the elite level as 4-year-olds and beyond. Forbidden Love enjoyed her most successful stint as a mature 4-year-old, adding the G1 George Ryder S. and G1 Guy Walter S. to her resume, while Behemoth, Wellington, and Alligator Blood all enjoyed the majority of their Group 1 success as 5-year-olds and older.
With a month remaining in the current season, All Too Hard is set to finish among Australia’s leading sires once again and enjoy his fifth consecutive season siring a Group 1 winner. Standing this season for an unchanged $38,500 inc GST, he remains one of the best value opportunities in the stallion marketplace.
