Double ton up for I Am Invincible
Yarraman Park Stud’s star stallion creates history with 200 individual winners in a season
The dominant victory of lightly-raced three-year-old Pelorus Princess at Sale yesterday held more significance than most country Victoria maiden wins normally would with her sire I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit) now on a pedestal past Australian champions have been unable to reach.
The Danny O’Brien-trained filly became the 200th individual winner this season for the exceptional Hunter Valley sire, who is the first Australian stallion to reach the magical number.
Yarraman Park Stud’s Arthur Mitchell believes it is the constitution and temperament of I Am Invincible’s stock which has been a major part of the stallion’s success that began from a well-documented $11,000 service fee in 2010.
“I think the story tells itself, really. He seems to be on most sires’ lists, the two-year-olds, three-year-olds, the general sires,” said Mitchell soon after Pelorus Princess’s two-and-a-quarter-length win as a short-priced favourite.
“He seems to be on every list in one form or another. They can run at two, they train on. He is a good, high-class stallion and hopefully we are going to have him around for a few more years yet.”
Rising 17-year-old I Am Invincible also sired the most winners in Australia last season (183) and in 2018-19 (184), while Arrowfield’s four-time champion stallion Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice) sired 173 winners in 2017-18 after siring 159 the previous racing year.
Lonhro (Octagonal) sired 160 winners in the 2013-14 season to set a new record, surpassing the previous mark of 155 jointly held by Commands (Danehill) (2010-11) and Bel Esprit (Royal Academy) (2012-13).
Internationally, I Am Invincible has sired an additional 29 winners this year to go with the 200 in his home country, with his progeny proving successful in Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, Macau and the US. Closer to home in New Zealand, he has tallied eight individual winners this season.
He is currently third on the general sires table by earnings with his progeny winning $14.78 million, trailing Written Tycoon (Iglesia) ($16.26 million) and Not A Single Doubt (Redoute’s Choice) ($15.37 million). Snitzel is fourth on the table with progeny earnings of $13.5 million in 2020-21.
I Am Invincible is also second to Written Tycoon by winners and earnings for three-year-olds and he is sixth on the two-year-old sires’ table with 16 individual winners so far.
“To be fair, Written Tycoon has had a better season than him. He has had a hell of a good year, Written Tycoon, and he didn’t have The Everest distorting the prize-money list,” Mitchell said.
“But I Am Invincible has had a good, solid season and … there’s been quite a lot of two-year-olds who haven’t been pushed this year, so hopefully they will come out at three and we will see some smart horses.”
The sire of 64 stakes winners in his career to date – nine of them at Group 1 level – I Am Invincible, Mitchell says, can further elevate himself into the top echelon of Australia’s greatest sires given the quality of mares he has covered in recent years.
His crop of rising two-year-olds include a brother to Group 2-winning, Group 1-placed sprinter Libertini, a son of Black Caviar (Bel Esprit), a half-sister to stakes-winning three-year-old filly Written Beauty (Written Tycoon), a daughter of Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Catchy (Fastnet Rock) and a brother to Rosemont Stud stallion Strasbourg, among many others.
“It has been said a few times that it can’t get better than what he’s done, but our theory is that if you get the better and more athletic mares, they should pass on some of their qualities as well,” the studmaster said.
“They are better looking, better bred and better performed, so hopefully that is what happens.”
King Of Sparta to stay in Australia
I Am Invincible sired 15 stakes winners worldwide this season, 12 of them in Australia, and Mitchell is confident that his relatively unexposed crop of rising three-year-olds, conceived from a $110,000 (inc GST) service fee, can have a major representation in the feature races next season.
The Chris Waller-trained, Coolmore co-owned Silver Slipper Stakes (Gr 2, 1100m) winner Home Affairs was front of mind for Mitchell as was Wednesday’s impressive Group-performed juvenile maiden winner King Of Sparta.
“Funnily enough, we have just bought out our partners in King Of Sparta, or in the process of doing it (pending a veterinary inspection),” said Mitchell, who will race the horse with brother Harry and some other partners.
“He could have gone to Hong Kong, but we’ve decided to keep him and, if the deal goes through, we will keep him racing in Australia. I think he’s got a promising future, too.
“Now that he is a gelding, we can look after him and keep him racing for quite a few seasons to come. I think he will get better.”
Bred by the Mitchells, King Of Sparta was sold for $700,000 at last year’s Magic Millions Yearling Sale with the brothers retaining a share in the colts syndicate led by China Horse Club and Newgate Farm. He will remain in training with Peter and Paul Snowden.
King Of Sparta, who has encountered soft tracks in all five starts, could be sent to Melbourne in search of drier surfaces.
“We believe that most of the I Am Invincibles are better on top of the ground. Some of them can handle it, but I don’t think they’re seen at their best on the soft and heavy,” he said.
“If it’s a wet winter, it can be a bit of a tough time for I Am Invincible and we think he goes better when the tracks start to dry out a bit.”
Hellbents about to hit the track
Mitchell revealed I Am Invincible, who covered more than 200 mares across four seasons from 2016 to ’19 and 193 last year, will have his book of mares capped around 170 while his sire son, Group 1-winning sprinter Hellbent, will have his first crop two-year-olds hitting the track in 2021-22.
“So far, from what we are hearing from the various trainers and horse breakers, they like them,” he said.
“They have lovely attitudes and they are not dissimilar to the I Am Invincibles. Everyone who has them seems to be giving us reports.
“I know it’s early days, they haven’t had trials or anything yet, but the reports so far are promising.”
Hellbent has also been fully booked for his fourth year at stud.