A few eyebrows may have been raised when yet another 'half-brother to a champion!' was knocked down for $1.025 million at the Australian Easter Yearling Sale last year. After all, the $27,500-fee Casino Prince is altogether unproven as a sire. The dam in question does goes alright however - having thrown a nice sprinting filly by the name of Black Caviar - but more often than not in this game one family member seems to 'hog' all the quality, with far more million dollar yearlings busting than do

A few eyebrows may have been raised when yet another 'half-brother to a champion!' was knocked down for $1.025 million at the Australian Easter Yearling Sale last year. After all, the $27,500-fee Casino Prince is altogether unproven as a sire. The dam in question does goes alright however - having thrown a nice sprinting filly by the name of Black Caviar - but more often than not in this game one family member seems to 'hog' all the quality, with far more million dollar yearlings busting than doubling-up.

But when the buyer was revealed, things made far more sense. In one fell swoop, Nathan Tinkler ensured some great promotion for a young stallion Patinack Farm hold high hopes for by securing the publicity that accompanies a sale-topper. And after an ultra-impressive debut win in the listed Talindert Stakes on Saturday, Tinkler already has not only a possible flagship horse for Casino Prince but another valuable stallion prospect on his hands, a value that looks set to soar beyond seven figures should ALL TOO HARD live up to that run in the future. I, for one, am extremely confident that he will. I loved the way this colt extended in the run to the line at Flemington and can see him emerging as a genuine Group 1 force later in the autumn, with the Sires Produce or Champagne Stakes perhaps the most suitable targets. Very rarely do the younger relatives of champions live up to the hype on the track (admittedly, unless All Too Hard wins 20 races in a row, he'll forever be in his big sister's hulking shadow!), but I think this exciting colt will more than justify the dramatic bidding war waged to secure his ownership. Team Hawkes have pledged to take All Too Hard along slowly and were immediately dismissive of any suggestion that the Blue Diamond should be on the agenda, which should hold him in even better stead for the autumn.

Another to watch for in the 2yo Triple Crown in Sydney might be Chris Waller's filly JADE MARAUDER. She is also very well-related (by Fastnet Rock and a half-sister to the talented Western Australian filly BLISS STREET) and an excellent late-closing run last start suggests that the longer sprints will be her go.