I Am Invincible A Rising Sales Star

Sydney, AUSTRALIA–The dominance of the Danehill line in Australia has created a demand for outcross sires, and in I Am Invincible (Aus) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) the Mitchell family's Yarraman Park Stud appears to have struck gold. The country's champion first-season sire in 2013/14, I Am Invincible has gone from strength to strength, and it is impossible to ignore the popularity of his yearlings thus far in 2017; his 108 sold thus far have averaged A$222,199, with a top-priced colt of A$1.4-million and top-priced filly of A$575,000.

I Am Invincible has 18 yearlings set to go under the hammer at this week's Inglis Easter yearling sale Apr. 4 to 6, including lot 8, a filly who is the first foal out of stakes winner Walk With Attitude (Aus) (Hussonet); lot 69, Yarraman Park's first foal out of the multiple stakes winner Camporella (Aus) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}); lot 71, a colt who is the first foal of Captivating Claire (NZ) (O'Reilly {NZ}) from the family of Octagonal (NZ), Danewin (Aus) and Commands (Aus); lot 246, a half-brother to stakes winner Moonlight Hussler (Aus) (Hussonet); and lot 366, Yarraman Park's colt out of the two-time stakes producer Speedy Bell (Aus) (Brocco).

I Am Invincible, a member of the first of four Southern Hemisphere crops for Invincible Spirit (Ire) (Green Desert), had a productive but unheralded racing career, winning a pair of stakes at four over 1100 metres. Perhaps the best indication of his talent was his placings behind a pair of superstars: a third behind subsequent G1 Golden Slipper winner Forensics in the G3 Kindergarten S. at two and a second behind sprinting worldbeater Takeover Target in the G1 Goodwood S. at four.

Yarraman Park's Arthur Mitchell explained how the stud came to stand one of Australia's most exciting young sires.

“We followed his racing career and we knew he was a good horse, and eventually someone came to us and said, 'you should have a look at this horse,'” he said. “So my brothers and I went to have a look at him at his stables in Victoria and the criteria was that we had to love him. He came out of his box and he's as good a looking horse as you'll see. He's so handsome, big and strong, and we just loved him from the moment we saw him. So we bought half of him and the group who raced him retained the other half.”

I Am Invincible stood for A$10,000 for his first four years at Yarraman Park and went up to A$25,000 off the success of his first 2-year-olds, which saw him top the first-season sire ranks by number of winners and stakes winners. A member of that first crop, Brazen Beau (Aus), would become his first Group 1 winner in the G1 Coolmore Stud S. the following season, and I Am Invincible's fee went up to A$50,000 by the time Brazen Beau had added a win in the G1 Lightning S. and a second in the G1 Diamond Jubilee S. at Royal Ascot. Brazen Beau is now a dual-hemisphere sire for Darley, with his first weanlings to be offered at Australia's upcoming breeding stock sales.

“His first four years he was 10-grand and we kept him pretty full of mares the best we could,” Mitchell said. “Away he went with his first crop and he just kept on improving. All his ones racing now are off A$10,000 or less nominations. To be competing against the big guns he's done an excellent job. These yearlings are off a A$25,000 fee and then he went to A$50,000, and next year he'll be a minimum of A$100,000.”

Mitchell said a fee raise for I Am Invincible will accompany a restriction in book size.

“He covered around 140 or 150 the first year and then we always kept him up around 170 or 180, and the last couple years he's covered around the 200 mark,” he explained. “This year we're going to restrict him back to around 160 if we can, but I'm getting bullied pretty badly everywhere.”

It's plain to see why breeders are clamouring to get a spot in I Am Invincible's book. He added another Group 1 winner in the spring in Myer Classic winner I Am A Star (Aus), and his flagbearers also include Singapore's champion sprinter Super One (Aus), now standing at Newgate Farm, and this year's Magic Millions 2YO Classic winner Houtzen (Aus).

“He's now being supported by all the major studs in Australia,” Mitchell said. “His book this year, I wouldn't be able to count the number of high-class, stakes-winning mares or stakes-producing mares he's going to get, but it'll be a very good book. The problem is we're trying to get his numbers down.”

Yarraman Park has enjoyed a productive season not only with I Am Invincible but with its other resident sire, Hinchinbrook (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), as well. A half-brother to Australia's leading sire Snitzel (Aus), Hinchinbrook, who was leading first-season sire in 2014/15 with dual Group 1 winner Press Statement (Aus) to his credit, sired the Magic Millions 3YO Guineas winner Flying Jess (Aus) on the Gold Coast in January 30 minutes before Houtzen won the 2YO Classic for I Am Invincible, and his four stakes winners this season include the G2 Skyline S. winner and Golden Slipper runner Diamond Tathagata (Aus).

“He was bred on the farm and he's out of the same mare as Snitzel, and Snitzel is our leading stallion,” Mitchell said. “Hinchinbrook is doing a fabulous job. He's getting lots of stakes horses. He does cover a restricted book so he doesn't have the numbers–he only covers around 130 mares–but I think he's doing a very good job. He's getting plenty of stakes winners on the major tracks.”

Heading into this week's Easter sale, the momentum of its sires isn't the only thing Yarraman Park has going for it. The nursery will offer 15 yearlings in Sydney, including the Shamus Award (Aus) half-sister to last month's G1 Golden Slipper winner She Will Reign (Aus) (Manhattan Rain {Aus}) (lot 86).

“She's a really nice filly,” Mitchell said. “She's a really good walker and has a great attitude. She wasn't bred on the farm, she's only come to us for yearling prep, but she's a really nice, good-natured, good-moving filly. I'd expect her to sell really well.”

Noting other potential stars in the draft, Mitchell said, “We have what we think is an outstanding Medaglia d'Oro colt (lot 178) out of a mare called Hoss Amor (Aus) (General Nediym), who was a very fast, speedy mare with a good Australian pedigree. He's an outstanding colt so we're hoping he sells very well.”

“We've got a couple of I Am Invincibles,” Mitchell added. “A lot of them have already been sold but we have a very nice filly out of Camporella, her first foal, and we've got a very nice colt out of a mare called Speedy Bell, who is an older mare. She's been a phenomenal producer and he's a lovely colt.”

While Australia's middle market for yearlings is generally very strong, thanks to the participation of a variety of syndicators, Mitchell noted that the Easter sale generally returns the best results at the top end, thus emphasizing the need to bring one's best yearlings.

“Often the Easter sale is not a syndicator's sort of sale–it's a bit more of a high-end sale–and often the middle market isn't naturally as strong as the top end,” he explained. “At the top end you can get very lucky, where at the Magic Millions and the other sales the middle market is very strong.”

With a history of success and the momentum of a strong 2017 behind it, Yarraman Park shouldn't struggle to deliver results this week in Sydney.