New breed of money-making machines No gut-busters: Trainer John Hawkes says hard racing can affect stallion prospects. New-age racing has taken a retrograde step with stallions being retired too early, according to John Hawkes, now a major player in the category. "If Pierro and All Too Hard went on [racing] they would have had some great clashes in the spring and autumn," Hawkes declared. That's good for racing, but the commercial dollars has taken over. Hawkes played his part before the recent retirement of All Too Hard, a three-year-old he nurtured to multi-millions after only 12 starts, while Pierro has followed the path to the breeding barn rather than more racecourse glory after just 14 races. The champion Tulloch had 29 starts as a three-year-old and the great Gunsynd had 21 in the same period and 54 overall. Both were flops at stud. Rarely these days do top-line colts have a chance to build on their popularity. Fortunately, we had Black Caviar, which showed what champion with longevity can do for the industry. Black Caviar took the boozers away from the bar to get a glimpse, and All Too Hard, her half-brother, had plenty of the family charisma. Rick Hore-Lacy justifiably bills himself as a "stallion maker," while Lee Freedman built up credits in the classification in which Hawkes is emerging as a major influence. From lesser numbers the Hore-Lacy successes include Redoute's Choice, Canny Lad and Clay Hero. Certainly, Angus Armanasco was a leader in the field, particularly with the lightly-raced Biscay and Bletchingly, bred by Stanley Wootton, an Australian who imported the idea of light racing careers for stud prospects here. After all, Heroic, regarded as Australia's great home-bred stallion, had 51 starts in the 1920s and won the sires' premiership for seven seasons straight at a time when substance was more prized than speed. However, Hawkes has the modern-day comparison regarding whether hard racing takes a toll at stud. Consider Octagonal and Lonhro, sire of Pierro. By contrast, Commands wasn't in the same class as a racehorse but has been a productive in the serving caper after a 15-start career. So is too much racing for too long detrimental? "If they are hammered, yes," Hawkes said. No different to fillies, it's all about management; how many runs over what time. A lot of champion mares are not worth two bob at stud. It's a balance. Hammered isn't the right word, 'bust a gut' is better. Tough runs catch up with them. Sunline, a champion mare, wasn't overraced but used to bust her bum. Octagonal? "Yeah, you'd have to say he didn't live up his reputation [at stud]," Hawkes pondered. He still got winners and a champion [Lonhro]. How many stallions produce a champion and you say they are a failure? Still, it was more the type of horse than hard racing that came against Octagonal. "Octagonal would have won a Melbourne Cup if he'd run," Hawkes maintained. But the best stallions are sprinter-milers and that's why Lonhro is doing so well. Lonhro didn't race as hard and have as many gut-busters. Australia is about speed. Everyone wants to win the Melbourne Cup, one race. Our racing is geared around two- and three-year-olds. Overseas it is more three- and four- and five-year-olds. Commands, Hawkes stressed, was an example that top stallions don't have to be great racehorses. "He has a great pedigree," the trainer pointed out. Commands could have been a racehorse but didn't want to be there. No doubt he would have been a better gelding, gone to another level. Most of the big races are won by the well-bred horses now; ordinary events by everything and anything, but the majority of group races go to the good families. All Too Hard ticks all the boxes. "If Jack Ingham [with brother Bob, an owner of Woodlands Stud, the outfit that sold out to Darley] had him he would have raced for another 12 months for sure," Hawkes, who made his name under their patronage, reckoned. But then it would have cost them nothing. They had their own [brood] mares. If All Too Hard had remained in training he would have won another seven or eight group 1s but would not earn as much as he will at stud over the same period. (All Too Hard will stand at Vinery Stud and attend to 150 mares at his first season at $66,000 a service. Pierro, at Coolmore, can be secured for $77,000.) "That's why it's a commercial decision," Hawkes said. They invest a lot of money, want to get it back. But the punting public gets attached to the greats. "Racing's different now, the people are different," Hawkes opined. [There's] not the horse people around. Get 100,000 at the Cup carnival, 40,000 or 50,000 of them wouldn't know the racing was on. Once 99,000 were there to watch the races. Today it's more about the party. Wall-to-wall racing has come in. Two or three days a week you looked forward to going to the meetings. Now they are in your lounge room. Yeah, unfortunately it's the era of too much money.