Champion sires and star stables
The run of stakes success for Ciaron Maher and David Eustace with the progeny of I Am Invincible prompts a dive into which trainers have the best record when it comes to the progeny of both he and his great rival Snitzel.
Story:
Saturday’s victory of Tiz Invincible (I Am Invincible) in The Rosebud (Listed, 1100m) meant the past three stakes winners for the country’s leading stable of last season, Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, have all been by Australia’s champion sire I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit).
It should not be that surprising that the top stable and a top sire have a successful combination, but such a run, with Tiz Invincible following the recent black-type wins of I Am Me and Zoukerette, does tend to stand out.
Maher and Eustace have had notable success with ‘Vinnie’s’ progeny before, especially his daughters, chiefly Group 1 winners Loving Gaby and Marabi. The list of stakes winners by the sire for the stable now stands at nine, some 9.2 per cent of I Am Invincible’s overall stakes-winning cohort of 98.
Overall, the stable has had 26 individual winners by the sire from 38 runners, a strong winners-to-runners ratio of 68.4 per cent, while those horses have had an overall winning strike rate of 24.4 per cent.
The most successful stable when it comes to the progeny of I Am Invincible has been Chris Waller. Waller has had 49 individual winners by the sire, with that collection of horses having won over $16 million in combined prize-money. Among that collection are seven stakes winners, three of them Group 1 winners, Brazen Beau, Invincibella and Home Affairs.
It’s worth noting that Waller has also been afforded the most opportunities with I Am Invincible’s progeny, with 94 of them having come through his stables and making it to the track. That represents just under nine per cent of the total of 1048 runners the Yarraman Park resident has had, a surprisingly high number for one stable, even one as large and successful as Waller’s.
The stable with the second most winners by I Am Invincible to this point has been Peter and Paul Snowden, with 48, achieved from 66 individual runners. They are the leading trainers of stakes winners by the sire with 13, a very strong stakes winners-to-runners ratio of 19.7 per cent, but none of those 13 have yet to graduate to a Group 1 victory.
Brisbane-based Tony Gollan is another trainer who is enjoying a great run with I Am Invincible’s progeny, having had 32 winners by the sire from just 41 starters. Among Gollan’s Vinnies are five stakes winners, highlighted by five-time black–type winner Most Important.
The leading stakes winner (10), and indeed winner of the most Group 1 races (five) for I Am Invincible has been star Kiwi sprinting mare Imperatriz, who has split her career between Te Akau trainers Jamie Richards and Mark Walker. Another of his daughters, the Shane Nichols-trained I Am A Star, won nine stakes races, while Voodoo Lad, who spent most of his career under Darren Weir, is his leading stakes-winning son on seven.
Invincibella, who was trained by Waller, is I Am Invincible’s leading prize-money earner on $3.03 million, ahead of Hong Kong’s Wishful Thinker; while third is dual Group 1-winning filly In Secret, who is on $2.8 million and would go to the top should she win a feature race of note this spring. She is the only stakes winner by I Am Invincible who has been trained by James Cummings.
Leading trainers of I Am Invincible’s progeny (ranked by winners)
| Trainer | Winners | Runners | Wins | W/R | S/R | SW | G1w |
| Chris Waller | 49 | 94 | 129 | 52.1% | 13.0% | 7 | 3 |
| Peter & Paul Snowden | 48 | 66 | 97 | 72.7% | 19.4% | 13 | 0 |
| Tony Gollan | 32 | 41 | 95 | 78.0% | 19.9% | 5 | 0 |
| Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | 26 | 38 | 61 | 68.4% | 24.4% | 9 | 2 |
| Lloyd Kennewell | 24 | 32 | 64 | 75.0% | 17.7% | 2 | 0 |
Extending the filter beyond I Am Invincible, we see some interesting patterns when it comes to the other dominant Australian sire of recent times, Arrowfield Stud’s four-time Australian champion Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice).
It is Snitzel’s own trainer Gerald Ryan who has had the most success with his progeny, with 72 individual winners under his own name and 15 for the training partnership with Sterling Alexiou which began in August 2020. He has trained 14 stakes winners by Snitzel, among them Group 1-winning sprinters Trapeze Artist and Snitzerland.
Ryan has been given more Snitzels than any other trainer, having prepared 109 of his progeny to make it to the racetrack when under his own name and 25 since partnering with Alexiou. While there is some slight overlap in those numbers – horses that featured under both operations – Ryan has trained over nine per cent of Snitzel’s runners, eight per cent of his winners and 10.4 per cent of his stakes winners.
The Snowdens are second when it comes to the volume of winners trained by Snitzel, with 49. Their list includes 11 stakes winners, five of them being Group 1 winners, topped by Redzel, who is also Snitzel’s highest-ever earner, and also including Russian Revolution, Invader and Wild Ruler. Their stakes-winners-to-runners ratio with Snitzel is a very impressive 16.7 per cent, and Group 1 winners-to-runners a stratospheric 7.6 per cent.
Gai Waterhouse had plenty of success with the progeny of Snitzel before Adrian Bott joined Tulloch Lodge, with 20 individual winners and that has continued with a further 45 winners by the sire since the partnership was formed in August 2016. That combined total puts Waterhouse above the Snowdens.
Before 2016, both Group 1 winners Sweet Idea and Wandjina were among the three stakes winning Snitzel progeny that Waterhouse trained. Waterhouse and Bott’s first-ever stakes winner in partnership, Thronum, was by Snitzel and a further eight have followed in the years since, including Group 1 winner In The Congo. That gives Waterhouse 12 stakes winners by Snitzel in total from 93 runners, a stakes-winners-to-runners ratio of 12.9 per cent.
Waterhouse’s overall winners-to-runners rate of 69.8 per cent with Snitzel’s progeny is higher than Ryan’s, but lower than the Snowdens (74.2), but her overall strike rate with his runners of 22.1 per cent is superior to all with more than 10 winners, except Maher and Eustace (23 per cent).
Maher and Eustace have had half the number of winners with Snitzel as they have by I Am Invincible, 13 compared to 26, but seven of those 13 have been stakes winners. Their SW/R rate with Snitzel’s progeny is a remarkable 36.8 per cent, featuring horses such as Jukebox, Bruckner and Away Game.
Leading trainers of Snitzel’s progeny (ranked by winners)
| Trainer | Winners | Runners | Wins | W/R | S/R | SW | G1w |
| Gerald Ryan (& Sterling Alexiou)* | 87 | 134 | 192 | 64.9% | 17.3% | 14 | 2 |
| Gai Waterhouse (& Adrian Bott)* | 65 | 93 | 139 | 69.9% | 22.1% | 12 | 2 |
| Peter & Paul Snowden | 49 | 66 | 120 | 74.2% | 20.8% | 11 | 5 |
| Chris Waller | 39 | 60 | 99 | 65.0% | 14.0% | 7 | 1 |
| Kris Lees | 30 | 45 | 84 | 66.7% | 18.5% | 1 | 0 |
* combined before and including partnership