All Too Hard earned the seal of approval after an authoritative win in the Sportingbet C F Orr Stakes, at Caulfield on Saturday.

He joined an elite list of equine greats dating back to near a century, to the era of Heroic and The Night Patrol.

All Too Hard carried on from where he left off after finishing second in the Sportingbet Cox Plate to Ocean Park.

He has now taken over, ready to pursue the mantle as a premier force at weight for age.

That is likely to be his niche, with a reported $25 million tag on him that will never be retrieved on the racecourse, his ultimate future lies fair and square as a sire and investors have to be protected.

Vinery’s astute supremo, Peter Orton, is the architect; he will be making most of the decisions with the welfare of the horse and investors paramount.

All Too Hard has furnished into a magnificent thoroughbred, he was likened to a man among the boys when parading at Caulfield, he really stood out.

While Wall Street carried on with a variety of equine antics behind the starting gate, All Too Hard, wearing a barrier blanket, walked about unconcerned with all the fuss that was taking place.

H e moved away clearly from the outside gate, contented to trail the field until it came down to the business end of the job, he had the leaders well within his sights.

The Futurity looks the ideal option at this stage and the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot could ultimately be beckoning.

That would be the ideal scenario, the showcase to ensure the shuttle into the northern hemisphere.

All Too Hard delivers

Race fitness played an important role in the win of Mulaazem in the Group 2 Hyland Race Colours Autumn Stakes.

He was in front from the outset, coming in for a lot of support on the strength of a win at Cranbourne over the same distance.

There was a lot to live up to being a half brother to Sepoy.

Peter Moody described him as a high quality colt with a lot of potential; he is now a Group 2 winner with a hell of a pedigree about him.

“We are three weeks out from the Australian Guineas which will give us time to work him out and see which way we go,” said Moody”

There were some promising performances in the race including the Victoria Derby winner, Fiveandahalfstar, he was on the pace all the way, it was a top performance for a horse that will have a busy autumn.

He will miss the Guineas in favour of the Australian Cup on the way to the Australian Derby, which is his principle mission.

Super Cool turned in a pleasing run, Mark Kavanagh is in no hurry to commit himself, the horse will likely have an easy autumn, with the major assault in the spring.

Red Inca pleased Ray Besanko from a Guineas point of view and will be a lot better off at Flemington.

Hvasstan did very little, he was never in the hunt at any stage and only beat a couple home.

Mulaazem leads all tghe way in Autumn Stakes

When Montsegur and Metastasio were winning leading into the Blue Diamond Stakes trainer Peter Snowden, was talking up the one at home, Guelph, back in the stable.

There was good reason to take notice of her after an impressive win in Sydney on her home track, Warwick Farm.

It was a case of get on if you could after all the hype about, she opened up at odds on, then drifted out noticeably when her stable mate, Montsegur, came in for strong support, obviously punters had forgiven her for running unplaced in the Blue Diamond Preview behind Miracle Of Life.

Guelph is a high quality filly well endowed with ability, a stand out in the paddock and can be improved on with what we saw on Saturday in the Prelude.

Peter Snowden believes there is more to come from the filly, at her first start in the reverse direction she has done all that was asked of her.

It is now back to the drawing board with the team for much of this week, as next Monday is D day for final declarations.

Guelph - all class

There will be some soul searching for the Darley team before a final decision is made as to their runners in the Blue Diamond Stakes.

At this stage it looks a formidable team with three last start winners, plus Montsegur, she showed speed to lead up the fillies Prelude, yet looks the weakest link in the foursome.

Darley’s only colt likely to run in the Blue Diamond is Kuroshio,he won his Prelude in 1:04.10sec, slightly faster than the fillies heat, but whether that is of any credence is debateable.

Kuroshio turned the tables on Dissident who had defeated him in the Preview, yet was disappointing in the Prelude.

The Snowden trained colt, Kuroshio, looks the best of the males; he ran the trip right out with the extra 100 metres of the Diamond not likely to bother him.

Peter Snowden described the colt, “he is no super star, just a tough little horse, what you see is what you get, he did wobble a bit around the corner, once he balanced up he knuckled to the job well, he is in the mix”

The first starter, The Bowler, a $67,500 purchase out of the Magic Millions, showed a stack of speed to clearly lead the field from the inside gate, it should not be long before he wins a race on that run.

Kuroshio defeating The Bowler

Moonee Valley is the venue tonight, the meeting has attracted eight races, with scratching, four races will be reduced to quinella betting only.

The Penetrometre reading is 4.70, the track a dead 4, the Rail will be out 7 metres, the track has received 40mls of irrigation this week, including 4 mls overnight.

Manila Jewel has been disappointing of late, she gets her chance to atone in the Alternative Railway Handicap, she receives a 1.5 kg claim for the services of Chad Schofield, if she cannot win this she deserves the sack.

Her stable mate, Great Game, is short at $2.60, she is still a maiden after running four seconds, she gets her chance from gate one in the Boscastle Plate over 1600 metres.

Caulfield tomorrow has a good card with a lot of interest, The Penetrometre reading is 5.40. The track is a dead 4, the rail out 6 metres, last week it was out 3 metres, the track has had 38 mls of irrigation this week, including 8 mls yesterday.

Racing will shine brightly at Caulfield with the better horses beginning to return to racing, for what promises to be a successful autumn carnival.

The first Group1 race of the year, the Sportingbet C F Orr Stakes, named in honour of Charles Frederick Orr, who played a prominent role with the Williamstown Racing Club in the early 1900s.

King Mufhasa is a proven at weight for age, having won over the trip on six occasions, including a win in the Futurity Stakes and has performed well here previously.

He has had a change of stables since we last saw him, he comes into the race as a last start winner, he is entitled to be highly respected, particularly as he has won under the scale.

The reappearance of the three year old, All Too Hard, adds further depth in the field, after winning the Caulfield Guineas he beat all but Ocean Park in the Cox Plate, he looks like making the transition to weight for age.

One gets a bit tired of All Too Hard being referred to as the half brother to Black Caviar, if he is good enough he will do it on own, he is in no need of assistance.

The unbeaten Callanish, a winner of eight on the trot, faces his biggest challenge to date when he steps up to weight for age.

He has done nothing wrong to this stage, he seems certain to be in the race for a long way, he has worked well since winning the Seymour Cup.

Le Remas may not be the worst of them, Brian Mc Knight has him rock hard in condition, the horse is as tough as old boots and never gives in without a fight.

H galloped on the straight track at Ballarat on Wednesday, then swam yesterday, he is bucking his brands off.