Go to Villagebet.com.au for free horse racing tips - Click here now
Forum Home Forum Home > Horse Breeding - Public Forums > Stallions
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - I Am Invincible
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login


Thoroughbred Village Home Page. For village news, follow @TBVillage on Twitter. For horseracing tips, follow @Villagebet on Twitter. To contact the Mayor by email: Click Here.


I Am Invincible

 Post Reply Post Reply Page  <1 5678>
Author
Message
Aurelius View Drop Down
Champion
Champion
Avatar

Joined: 08 Apr 2015
Status: Offline
Points: 4474
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Aurelius Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Apr 2017 at 10:27pm
He is Invincible.

Back to Top
Lordy View Drop Down
Champion
Champion
Avatar

Joined: 22 May 2010
Location: Sunshine State
Status: Offline
Points: 13887
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Lordy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Apr 2017 at 11:51pm
Originally posted by Sir Gov Sir Gov wrote:

His better bred types also just starting to come through.  On balance he should improve
Yes he should on probability.  His new stud fee is already claiming that high ground before it has transpired.
Back to Top
bradjm View Drop Down
Champion
Champion


Joined: 13 Mar 2007
Location: Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 6175
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote bradjm Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Apr 2017 at 8:40am
AVG 622,000 at Easter so far

Back to Top
Red Hare View Drop Down
Champion
Champion


Joined: 12 Jan 2015
Location: Victoria
Status: Offline
Points: 4233
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (2) Thanks(2)   Quote Red Hare Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Apr 2017 at 12:08pm
Uncanny that the two stallions to recently have their fee increased to WTF levels sold a $1m yearling within a week of the announcement.

Bought by the same bloke, a good old fashioned Irish horse trader, no less.
Back to Top
Cityboy View Drop Down
Champion
Champion
Avatar

Joined: 24 Feb 2007
Location: Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 873
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Cityboy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Apr 2017 at 12:13pm
Originally posted by Lordy Lordy wrote:

Originally posted by Sir Gov Sir Gov wrote:

His better bred types also just starting to come through.  On balance he should improve

Yes he should on probability.  His new stud fee is already claiming that high ground before it has transpired.


It didn't happen when Flying Spur got its "best" books of mares when his price went to $70k+. Nor did it happen when Dane Shadow got its "best" books of mares. I got caught by both and no longer subscribe to the theory that "better" mares will improve results of established stallions. Hopefully it works for IAI.
I've also given up on using proven stallions once they become expensive. First season stallions only for me now if breeding for the sale ring.
Back to Top
troppo75 View Drop Down
Champion
Champion


Joined: 10 Jun 2008
Location: Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 1438
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote troppo75 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Apr 2017 at 6:02pm
Yeah a horse stood in SA called Dont Say Halo.. he went to NSW to improve his mares and didnt fire as well as with the 'scrubbers' of SA... then he went to Perth and did ok

Same with El Moxie who had a great run in Tasmania, and while he still had some great Victorian bred horses his best known racing stock came from Tassie mares.


Now having passed 1000 posts I feel you are all so much the wiser for my having said... stuff!
Back to Top
Gay3 View Drop Down
Moderator Group
Moderator Group


Joined: 19 Feb 2007
Location: Miners Rest
Status: Offline
Points: 51818
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gay3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Apr 2017 at 6:45pm
Ken McLean gives Biscay as an example of a stallion who could dominate 'scrubbers' but not so the perceived upper echelon of mares Smile
Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!
Back to Top
Bi Carb View Drop Down
Champion
Champion
Avatar

Joined: 09 May 2008
Status: Offline
Points: 2082
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bi Carb Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Apr 2017 at 6:49pm
Originally posted by Red Hare Red Hare wrote:

Uncanny that the two stallions to recently have their fee increased to WTF levels sold a $1m yearling within a week of the announcement.

Bought by the same bloke, a good old fashioned Irish horse trader, no less.
 
ClapWinkBeer
Back to Top
Lordy View Drop Down
Champion
Champion
Avatar

Joined: 22 May 2010
Location: Sunshine State
Status: Offline
Points: 13887
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Lordy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Apr 2017 at 11:05pm
Interesting seeing them go to $1.6m for a yearling.  A the Chairmans sale last week you could have bought Gunnison for less money. He was already an unbeaten G2 winner.
Back to Top
kavg View Drop Down
Champion
Champion
Avatar

Joined: 08 Jun 2009
Status: Offline
Points: 3993
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kavg Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Apr 2017 at 11:38pm
Originally posted by Red Hare Red Hare wrote:

Uncanny that the two stallions to recently have their fee increased to WTF levels sold a $1m yearling within a week of the announcement.

Bought by the same bloke, a good old fashioned Irish horse trader, no less.


I'd like to look further into this. One stallion is iai. Who is the other? Or better still red, let me know what the 2 lots the irish horse trader bought.
Prejudice is an emotional attachment to ignorance.
DiEM25 for the world.
Back to Top
Spearmint View Drop Down
Champion
Champion
Avatar

Joined: 21 Feb 2007
Location: Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 1468
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Spearmint Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Apr 2017 at 1:07am
There is enough clues there to know it is James Harron Bloodstock that Red is referring to
"Nothing in the world is so powerful as an idea whose time has come"
Back to Top
Spearmint View Drop Down
Champion
Champion
Avatar

Joined: 21 Feb 2007
Location: Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 1468
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Spearmint Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Apr 2017 at 1:10am
Lots 65 and 71!!
"Nothing in the world is so powerful as an idea whose time has come"
Back to Top
Speediskey View Drop Down
Champion
Champion
Avatar

Joined: 19 Feb 2014
Status: Offline
Points: 4116
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Speediskey Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Apr 2017 at 2:05am
Originally posted by Lordy Lordy wrote:

Interesting seeing them go to $1.6m for a yearling.  A the Chairmans sale last week you could have bought Gunnison for less money. He was already an unbeaten G2 winner.

He also has no value as a breeder. If he were a colt you could nearly times that amount by 10 at this point with how crazy it's getting.


Back to Top
bradjm View Drop Down
Champion
Champion


Joined: 13 Mar 2007
Location: Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 6175
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote bradjm Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Apr 2017 at 8:46am
Originally posted by troppo75 troppo75 wrote:

Yeah a horse stood in SA called Dont Say Halo.. he went to NSW to improve his mares and didnt fire as well as with the 'scrubbers' of SA... then he went to Perth and did ok

Same with El Moxie who had a great run in Tasmania, and while he still had some great Victorian bred horses his best known racing stock came from Tassie mares.





You might be able to add written Tycoon to that list

By far his best crop was the one of a cheap service using the scrubbers of Qld :)
Back to Top
Sir Gov View Drop Down
Champion
Champion
Avatar

Joined: 17 May 2016
Status: Offline
Points: 2278
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Sir Gov Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Apr 2017 at 10:00am
Its all going to their head.

Still a pretty good side show so will stay engaged.
Back to Top
kavg View Drop Down
Champion
Champion
Avatar

Joined: 08 Jun 2009
Status: Offline
Points: 3993
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kavg Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Apr 2017 at 5:53pm
Thanks Spearmint.
Prejudice is an emotional attachment to ignorance.
DiEM25 for the world.
Back to Top
Red Hare View Drop Down
Champion
Champion


Joined: 12 Jan 2015
Location: Victoria
Status: Offline
Points: 4233
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (2) Thanks(2)   Quote Red Hare Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Apr 2017 at 6:51pm
I suppose, if you take a step back to think for a minute, you could hypothesise that the 'scrubbers' in Qld might've been bred using a bit more planning and thought than their (perhaps) mass-produced counterparts from the Hunter.

Maybe the Irish Horse Trader is a bit more cunning than the rest?
Back to Top
bradjm View Drop Down
Champion
Champion


Joined: 13 Mar 2007
Location: Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 6175
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote bradjm Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Apr 2017 at 12:33am
Originally posted by Red Hare Red Hare wrote:

I suppose, if you take a step back to think for a minute, you could hypothesise that the 'scrubbers' in Qld might've been bred using a bit more planning and thought than their (perhaps) mass-produced counterparts from the Hunter.

Maybe the Irish Horse Trader is a bit more cunning than the rest?



Well he stood in Victoria not the hunter
Back to Top
goldey View Drop Down
Champion
Champion
Avatar

Joined: 29 Dec 2012
Location: cairns
Status: Offline
Points: 5920
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote goldey Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Apr 2017 at 9:12am
Do irish horse traders pay spotters fees to yearling preppers ?
Back to Top
Red Hare View Drop Down
Champion
Champion


Joined: 12 Jan 2015
Location: Victoria
Status: Offline
Points: 4233
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Red Hare Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Apr 2017 at 12:48pm
Originally posted by goldey goldey wrote:

Do irish horse traders pay spotters fees to yearling preppers ?
I think his job would be to inspect a foal/weanling/yearling almost as often as the vet, if not more.
Back to Top
Red Hare View Drop Down
Champion
Champion


Joined: 12 Jan 2015
Location: Victoria
Status: Offline
Points: 4233
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Red Hare Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Apr 2017 at 12:59pm
Originally posted by bradjm bradjm wrote:

Originally posted by Red Hare Red Hare wrote:

I suppose, if you take a step back to think for a minute, you could hypothesise that the 'scrubbers' in Qld might've been bred using a bit more planning and thought than their (perhaps) mass-produced counterparts from the Hunter.

Maybe the Irish Horse Trader is a bit more cunning than the rest?

Well he stood in Victoria not the hunter
My comment was referring to the mares & wasn't specifically comparing WT or IAI as individual subsets, rather the commodity approach that is apparent in the Hunter (as well as their subsidiaries around the country).
Back to Top
djebel View Drop Down
Premium
Premium
Avatar

Joined: 07 Mar 2007
Status: Offline
Points: 53960
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote djebel Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Mar 2018 at 2:12pm
The best horse I Am Invincible is ever likely to produce is about to run.
reductio ad absurdum
Back to Top
furious View Drop Down
Champion
Champion


Joined: 19 Feb 2007
Status: Offline
Points: 25066
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote furious Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Mar 2018 at 2:17pm
big call there djebel.
Back to Top
Speediskey View Drop Down
Champion
Champion
Avatar

Joined: 19 Feb 2014
Status: Offline
Points: 4116
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Speediskey Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Mar 2018 at 2:23pm
I hope not.
Back to Top
djebel View Drop Down
Premium
Premium
Avatar

Joined: 07 Mar 2007
Status: Offline
Points: 53960
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote djebel Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Mar 2018 at 2:26pm
Despite running second I'll stick to my guns. 🤔
reductio ad absurdum
Back to Top
djebel View Drop Down
Premium
Premium
Avatar

Joined: 07 Mar 2007
Status: Offline
Points: 53960
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote djebel Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 May 2018 at 3:16pm

The Making Of An Invincible Sire

Updated: May 20, 2018 at 8:58 pm

I Am Invincible | Yarraman Park Stud

By Kelsey Riley

The perpetual debate about what qualities predispose a stallion to success is destined to be infinite, and by its nature is what causes the industry to keep going round anyway. But even Arthur Mitchell, the man who picked out I Am Invincible (Aus) with his brother Harry, admitted of Australia’s latest sire sensation, “You can’t predict these things at all.”

It is probably fair to say that few would have predicted I Am Invincible would be leading first-season sire of 2013/14 off a A$10,000 covering fee. And fewer still, four years later, probably would have guessed that this coming breeding season I Am Invincible would be up to A$192,500.

And how many can even argue that he doesn’t warrant that almost dizzying upward spiral? I Am Invincible sits second to only the reigning champion sire Snitzel (Aus) (2018 service fee A$220,000) by both progeny earnings and stakes winners this season. Behind him in both categories are the likes of Fastnet Rock (Aus), High Chaparral (Ire) and Street Cry (Ire). He has this season sired 18 stakes winners, 12 of those group winners. Four of those group winners are 2-year-olds, and remarkably that list doesn’t even include Oohood (Aus) who, with A$996,100 in the bank, is surely the world’s most accomplished maiden, having been placed in Australia’s three most important 2-year-old Group 1s.

I Am Invincible’s sales averages have risen as sharply as his stud fee: his 52 first-crop yearlings sold in 2013 averaged A$39,950 and this year, with the country’s major yearling sales in the books, his 98 sold have averaged A$441,901.

On race record and pedigree, I Am Invincible was a far from obvious candidate to be a champion sire. He was a decent racehorse; he won in February of his 2-year-old season and picked up a listed and Group 3 win at five, his career somewhat impeded by chronic foot issues. He was even a length second to the brilliant sprinter Takeover Target in a Group 1. He is, however, by Invincible Spirit who-while brilliant in the North-never really made it Down Under, leaving just eight total stakes winners from five seasons shuttling. While his first two dams are unraced, the third dam is the five-time winner Sister Pedrille (Aus) (Cardinal {Aus}), whose daughters produced six stakes horses including the G1 Queen of the Turf S. winner Diamond Drille (Aus) (Al Maher {Aus}). Much further back in the family are the champion mare Flight (Aus) and leading French sire Clarion (Fr).

Arthur Mitchell said it was I Am Invincible’s looks that drew the Yarraman team to purchase half of him from owners Ray and Brett Gall of Pedrille Thoroughbreds, who had bought him as a yearling for A$62,500.

“We knew about I Am Invincible as a 2-year-old and we knew he was a good-looking yearling and we had followed him,” Mitchell said. “We knew he’d had issues with his feet, and we’re still very careful with his feet; we spend a lot of time worrying about them. On paper he didn’t look good enough, but we’d had a bit of a look and he’d run second to Takeover Target in a pretty good sprint.”

“We met the owners and we agreed on a price subject to us going to look at him. Harry and I flew down, my brother Bill picked us up and we drove down and said, ‘the rule here is that the horse has to walk out of his box and we’ve just got to love him.’ He walked out of his box and we looked at each other and said, ‘we’ve just got to have this horse. He’s so good-looking.’ He’s the most marvelous-looking horse with the best temperament you’ve ever seen.”

Yarraman and Pedrille sold 13 lifetime breeding rights in the horse to get him some extra support from the start. A few of those breeding rights have been offered at public auction in recent years, with Phoenix Thoroughbreds snapping up one for A$575,000 at the Inglis Chairman’s sale last month. Two will be offered as part of the supplementary catalogue of the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.

“For a 10-grand horse we always got good books to him because we could sell him on looks,” Mitchell said. “We weren’t too fussy what was bred and a lot of the good early winners were bred by us. We sold 13 lifetime breeding rights to help, and [first-crop G1 Coolmore Stud S. winner] Brazen Beau got the stallion rolling. We stood the first four years at 10-grand and when his first 2-year-olds looked good and we knew they could run, we started to creep his fee up.”

I Am Invincible went up to A$25,000 off his first season sires’ premiership-the foals resulting from that season are this year’s 2-year-olds-A$50,000 the following year and A$110,000 last year. Last year’s book included the great Black Caviar (Aus) (Bel Esprit {Aus}), and Mitchell said, “he’s absolutely flat out with people trying to breed to him.”

The intention was to initially restrict I Am Invincible to 160 mares last year, but the stallion’s good fertility meant that number got bumped up a bit.

“He’s very fertile so he got through his main book quite easily, and then in November, people still wanted to breed to him later in the season and he was sitting in his box, so we were inclined to let a few in,” Mitchell explained. “We certainly weren’t pushing him, he did it himself. But this year we would like to bring him back a bit. He’s probably fit to cover 180 mares.”

Mitchell said I Am Invincible’s success could stem from the fact that he regularly passes on his good looks and demeanour.

“He throws his good looks and he’s a dominant bay/brown stallion,” he said. “His clearance rate at the sales is fantastic. He’s a reliable type-getter, they’ve got good dispositions, they are easy horses to train; I wasn’t sure about them being 2-year-olds, but this year with them being from better mares in better stables they’ve stepped up as 2-year-olds.”

I Am Invincible has achieved a remarkable clearance rate at this year’s sales, with 98 of his 103 offered sold for an average of A$441,901 and a median of A$345,000.

It is conceivable to think that I Am Invincible would be popular in the Northern Hemisphere considering the prolific reach of his sire there, but Mitchell said it is unlikely the horse will leave his homeland. Northern Hemisphere time covers would be considered, however, “for the right kind of mare.”

“I haven’t considered shuttling him, I’ve had numerous offers as you can imagine but I haven’t considered it,” Mitchell said. “With his feet, and he’s a very big horse–he’s 16.3–so he’s a big horse to travel and we just feel it’s safer. We’re not paying off an expensive horse, he didn’t cost a lot by today’s standards, so we’re just as happy to keep him at home.”

“I’m not anti-shuttling and I think it’s been a huge thing in Australia and it’s introduced some fabulous blood. Now we have mares foaling to American Pharoah, who is the most stunning horse and we’re all very excited to see his progeny. I think [shuttling] has been a great advancement for Australian breeding with Darley and Coolmore leading the way and now John Messara going the Japanese way to a degree. It all benefits our gene pool immensely.”

Yarraman Park also stands Hinchinbrook (Aus), a three-quarter brother to Snitzel, and this year it will add I Am Invincible’s Group 1-winning son Hellbent (Aus) to the roster. While Mitchell said he is a proponent of Australia breeding more stamina-oriented horses, he said Yarraman Park will stick to the speed formula for now.

“I think Australia in general has been speed-oriented and on this farm we’re going to stick to speed. It seems to be a formula that works,” he said. “We’re a commercial farm and we do sell most of our yearlings, and we find it easier to sell [speed horses]. Unless you get a top-class proven sire coming through like Pierro possibly is, then you can get a good return in the sales ring [for a stamina-bred horse].”

“I think [the Australian focus on speed] is a problem in the respect that we have this fabulous prizemoney in our top staying races and most of it is going to imports, so it would be nice to see more Australian-breds and New Zealand-breds competing at that level,” Mitchell added. “Here, most owners tend to want a faster return. They don’t really want to wait until the horse is four, they’d like to see something happen a fair bit earlier. I think it’s gone a bit that way and syndicates are a huge thing in Australia. I think people like to see action a bit earlier and that probably hasn’t worked in our favour.”

Hellbent, the winner of this season’s G1 William Reid S. at five, will start out with the odds much more in his favour than what his sire experienced; he has been fully syndicated and is fully booked at A$27,500.

“Hellbent is a horse we bought into as a 3-year-old because we followed him being a son of I Am Invincible,” Mitchell said. “We knew a bit about him and funny enough we heard on the grapevine that the chap who owned him was interested in selling half. We found out the price and thought ‘blimey, that horse could fit our profile.’ We bought half of him and raced him on. We were very unlucky in a few races; he kicked out one day and got hurt when he was odds-on favourite in a Group 2 and he was narrowly beaten in two Group 1s, and this year luckily won his Group 1 very impressively after being narrowly beaten in one two weeks earlier.”

“He’s proven he’s a super fast horse with a turn of foot, which is the profile we’re looking for. He’s a good-looking, tough Australian type of horse pretty much in the mould of his father, just not as big, but a nice 16-hand good-looking horse. We’ve been swamped not only for shares but by people looking for nominations. He’ll cover a book far superior to the book his father covered the first few years. Already we’ve been able to help people select the mares they send and his book will be of a very good quality.”

Hellbent will have plenty to live up to both in his own sire as well as Hinchinbrook, who was born on the farm and got his second Group 1 winner, Seabrook (NZ), in the G1 Champagne S. on Apr. 21 on the same card that Snitzel sired the G1 All Aged S. winner Trapeze Artist (Aus).

“Hinchinbrook is a three-quarter brother to Snitzel and Snitzel was bred here by Francois Naude who is a long-term client of ours,” Mitchell said. “We sold Snitzel to Damion Flower and he went on and John Messara got him for Arrowfield and he’s proven to be an amazing success. When we had Hinchinbrook the owner decided to keep him and race him so we had our finger on him from a very early time, and we were always keen to stand him. Sadly his mother died foaling him in the middle of the EI [Equine Influenza outbreak of 2008].”

Hinchinbrook’s success this season doesn’t stop with Seabrook; he has sired six stakes winners, four of those group winners, in 2017/18.

“Although another horse who never won a Group 1, he ran behind Black Caviar and Hay List and these great horses in Group 1s,” Mitchell said. “Although he never put his hand up for a Group 1 he was a Group 1 horse. He’s done well and had another price rise this year [to A$55,000] and he’s going to be very popular. He does cover a restricted book–he’ll only cover about 130 mares–we try to keep him to two mares a day. But he’s done a great job and he doesn’t have the numbers some of the other horses have.”

I Am Invincible will have five sons at stud this year; in addition to the Group 1 winners Hellbent and Brazen Beau-whose first-crop yearlings have been well received at this year’s yearling sales-there is Newgate’s Singapore champion sprinter Super One (Aus) with his first yearlings next season, and newcomers Kobayashi (Aus) at Aquis and Overshare (Aus) at Spendthrift. Sons of Invincible Spirit, too, have been filling up the planes to Australia in light of I Am Invincible’s success, and his sons at stud Down Under this year will include Group 1 winners Shalaa (Ire), Territories (Ire) and National Defense at Arrowfield, Darley and Sun Stud, respectively, while Cable Bay (Ire) covered 100 mares last year at Woodside Park Stud.

Arthur Mitchell and his younger brother Harry, who run the stud together, have a lifetime of experience in the Thoroughbred industry and know Yarraman Park like the back of their hands, having grown up on the land after emigrating from England at the ages of 13 and eight, respectively. While knowledge and experience doesn’t necessarily predispose one to success in the game of standing stallions, the Mitchell brothers’ record of unearthing useful-if not now, extraordinary-stallions from not the most obvious backgrounds speaks for itself.

“We’ve been standing stallions at various levels, some ok and some not so good, battling away,” Mitchell said. “And then we got into some better stallions; we got Catbird, who was a Golden Slipper winner, and had a bit of luck with him and a horse called Magic Albert who did very well.”

“But this horse is a once in a lifetime horse and he’s exceeded everyone’s expectations,” Mitchell admitted of I Am Invincible. “Our turn came and when it came it came in a big way.”

Mitchell was equally as optimistic about the outlook of the Thoroughbred industry in his country.

“I do think Australian breeding and racing is in a very vibrant state at the moment,” he said. “Our prizemoney continues to go up and is very strong and competitive. Especially with the Asian influence starting to buy more horses down here, we have some large Chinese-based owners and buyers and stud owners now; I think it’s pretty vibrant and in the next few years at least I don’t see any downside at all.”

“Our racing is strong and that’s driven by prizemoney, which is in turn driven by our racing administrators. John Messara and Peter V’landys in New South Wales have been outstanding dealing with government and making sure we get a fair cut of the betting handle. That’s been a huge thing for us. Racing here is viable, even at the country races we have prizemoney of 20,000 at the smallest meetings. It makes it viable for people now to have a horse, or a share in a horse, from all walks of life. That’s been the wonderful thing in Australia even in our big races with our syndicates owning Golden Slipper winners. The man on the street can own a share in a Golden Slipper winner-that doesn’t really happen anywhere else in the world.”

reductio ad absurdum
Back to Top
djebel View Drop Down
Premium
Premium
Avatar

Joined: 07 Mar 2007
Status: Offline
Points: 53960
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote djebel Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 May 2018 at 3:17pm
Originally posted by djebel djebel wrote:

The best horse I Am Invincible is ever likely to produce is about to run.

sweetheart, Who was that ? 
reductio ad absurdum
Back to Top
Speediskey View Drop Down
Champion
Champion
Avatar

Joined: 19 Feb 2014
Status: Offline
Points: 4116
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Speediskey Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 May 2018 at 3:47pm
Fiesta
Back to Top
djebel View Drop Down
Premium
Premium
Avatar

Joined: 07 Mar 2007
Status: Offline
Points: 53960
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote djebel Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 May 2018 at 3:50pm
Thankyou.

She turned out all right but I may have been wrrrrrr wrrrrrr
reductio ad absurdum
Back to Top
acacia alba View Drop Down
Champion
Champion
Avatar

Joined: 31 Oct 2010
Location: Hunter Valley
Status: Offline
Points: 41243
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote acacia alba Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 May 2018 at 4:02pm
LOL, Francois was with us in Kentucky, and he talked non stop about Hinchinbrook.  And Gerald.  Drove us nuts !
animals before people.
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  <1 5678>

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down

Forum Software by Web Wiz Forums® version 12.05
Copyright ©2001-2022 Web Wiz Ltd.

This page was generated in 0.566 seconds.