Cover image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
While Outrageous hadn’t previously won beyond 1400 metres, it wasn’t a concern to Team Hawkes and he was good enough to capitalise on a grand ride from Tommy to claim the Fujitsu General-sponsored feature.
The now Vinery Stud-based All Too Hard was a high-quality colt who won seven of his 12 starts, including the Caulfield Guineas, Orr S., Futurity S. and the All Aged S. at Group 1 level and finished runner-up in the Cox Plate.
With that record and as a half-brother to the unbeaten champion Black Caviar (Bel Esprit), All Too Hard was always going to be popular at stud and has produced the top-flight winners Behemoth and Alligator Blood.
Vinery has also purchased standing rights to the Hawkes-trained Ole Kirk (Written Tycoon), winner of the G1 Caulfield Guineas and G1 Golden Rose S., who is out of a half-sister to the aforementioned pair of Black Caviar and All Too Hard.
All Too Hard | Standing at Vinery Stud
Unbeaten this campaign
Outrageous went into the Festival S. in fine touch having won a BM90 event at Flemington on Melbourne Cup Day in his first appearance for the spring.
“He’s in really good form and we had him ready to go first-up in Sydney and it just poured that day at Randwick so we found a nice little race in Melbourne over the carnival first-up,” Michael Hawkes said.
“William Pike gave him a good ride that day and so we brought him back to Sydney for this Group race and Tommy gave him a good ride again.
“The last thing I said to him was just wait until you really have to go for him. He had to do a bit of work early, to be fair, to get across.
“When they came around the corner and Tommy was swinging on him it was all over.”
“When they came around the corner and Tommy was swinging on him it was all over.” – Michael Hawkes
Outrageous was purchased for $460,000 by Hawkes Racing at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale where he was offered by Vinery Stud, who remained in the ownership.
He is a half-brother to the G3 Western Australian Oaks winner Very Tempting (Redoute’s Choice) and their dam Fit And Ready (More Than Ready {USA}) is a half-sister to the G1 Golden Slipper S. winner and sire Catbird and to the G2 Pago Pago S. winner and sire Danbird.
They are out of Fitting (Marscay) who was also a talented performed who won the Listed Gimcrack S. and finished third in the G1 Flight S. Further back in the pedigree is the G3 Norman Robinson S. winner Pillar Of Hercules (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}).
Outrageous was a 2-year-old winner and showed his quality when third in the G1 ATC Sires’ Produce S.
“He was probably a bit stiff not to win that and we’ve got another Group winner for All Too Hard so we’ll keep soldiering on,” Hawkes said.
Outrageous sat outside the leader to the turn before taking over 300 metres from home and he didn’t flinch under pressure to hold the challenge of Royal Celebration (Excelebration {Ire}) at bay by 0.2l.
Evalina (I Am Invincible) hit the line well for third ahead of the 200-1 chance Mr Marathon Man (GB) (So You Think {NZ}) and the favourite Through the Cracks (Wanted) got back in the running and ran on fairly for seventh.
Outrageous as a yearling
