I Am Invincible breaks seasonal stakes winner record in Australia

In surpassing the landmark set firstly by Danehill and equalled twice by Snitzel in recent times, I Am Invincible - who will stand for an increased fee of A$247,500 [£133,300] in 2019 - added further gravitas to his burgeoning reputation as one of the predominant forces in Australasian bloodstock, much to the delight of his owners.

"It should have been two!” Arthur Mitchell told ANZ Bloodstock News. "He had a near miss in a Group 2 in Brisbane [Strasbourg dead-heated for second in the Champagne Classic].

"Danehill got to 26 once and Snitzel has done it twice, so to surpass it is very satisfying indeed. Danehill was the complete breed changer here and obviously Snitzel is another super one too, so for I Am Invincible to actually beat them is a pretty good effort.

"We weren’t expecting him to break this record this year, but he started off pretty hot so we knew he would have a good year. He just keeps going from strength to strength. It’s fabulous."

A Group 3 winner who was subsequently Group 1-placed on the track, I Am Invincible started life in the covering shed by serving 133 mares at a fee of A$11,000 [£5,925] in 2010.

Having covered 223 mares at his previous high of A$192,500 [£103,700] last year, Mitchell was quick to note the rapid rise to stardom of his flagbearer, while pointing out the best could still be yet to come when the progeny of his most talented books hit the racecourse.

"The crops he’s got on the track at the moment are from very humble stud fees," Mitchell continued. "The two-year-olds are coming off a A$50,000 fee, which is most satisfying. He has come along way in a relatively short space of time.

"This mare (Libertini’s dam - Aloha) herself was a Group 1 winner and this horse is very good, but not all the mares he covered were stars, so it is quite an achievement. We’ve still got Brisbane to go yet and there are still more he can win."

Commenting on I Am Invincible’s new fee, Mitchell added: "His book was basically full before we announced the new fee and after the fee he was completely swamped in two days."

The desire for breeders to support I Am Invincible is unsurprising given the rising 15-year-old has not so much broken the record for stakes winners, but obliterated it with three months of the season remaining.

While a juvenile Group 1 winner remains elusive thus far - although said feat will surely materialise in the near future - I Am Invincible has sired seven top-tier winners to date, including current Darley resident Brazen Beau and Winterbottom and AJ Moir Stakes winner Viddora.

Cummings believes Libertini is capable of joining that illustrious list following yesterday’s impressive success as the now two-time winner recorded a first victory in black-type company having finished runner-up in the Kindergarten Stakes on her debut in April.

Ridden by Tommy Berry, the two-year-old showed a pleasing turn of foot to justify her position as market leader in the straight, quickening clear of Regimental Band, who completed a one-two for I Am Invincible, while there were two and a half lengths back to Akari in third.

A delighted Cummings made no secret of the regard in which he holds the Gerry Harvey-owned Libertini, a Baramul Stud homebred who will now be spelled before returning for a Group 1-centred campaign in the spring.

"She will have a break now and come back for the Princess Series, including the Group 1 Flight Stakes in the spring," Cummings said.

"I would be surprised if at the end of the day she wasn't a Group 1 winner - she is showing the best as a baby I've had.

"She's got a couple of boxes ticked now as a stakes winner so she will have a break and hopefully come back and fulfil her potential."

Libertini has accumulated A$147,100 [£79,240] in prize-money having yet to finish out of the first two in three career outings.

Regally bred, she is the first stakes winner from three named foals - all of whom have won - out of the Encosta De Lago mare Aloha, who numbers the Coolmore Classic among her eight career successes.

Aloha, who was also bred and raced by Harvey, is herself out of the Listed winner Tennessee Midnight, while this is the family of Champagne Stakes winner Seabrook and prolific winner - including twice at Group 1 level - Malaguerra, who finished runner-up in the Futurity Stakes in February.

Aloha delivered a filly by the late Widden Stud resident Sebring in 2017 prior to producing a sister to Libertini last year. She subsequently returned to I Am Invincible with a service date of September 2.

For complete coverage of racing and bloodstock in Australia and New Zealand, subscribe to ANZ Bloodstock News