I Am Invincible has fee reduced but remains dearest sire in Australia

Yarraman Park Stud in New South Wales has announced that I Am Invincible, who is in contention for his first Australian champion sire title this season, will remain the country’s most expensive stallion but at a reduced fee of A$209,000 (£109,000/€124,000).

The tremendous rise of I Am Invincible, from A$11,000 in his first four seasons to a high of A$247,500 last year, looks set to continue, even with a reduced fee in 2020 due to the economic turmoil caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

His son and Yarraman companion Hellbent has also been reduced slightly, coming down to A$22,000 (£11,400/€13,050) from A$27,500 for what will be his third season at stud.

“It was a difficult decision, but we’re all aware that we could be going into difficult times,” Yarraman Park Stud’s Arthur Mitchell said. “We thought that it was the right thing to do, to bring them back, and to leave a bit more meat on the bone for breeders, so to speak.

“We’ve been lucky that Australia is continuing to race when most countries aren’t and so there is still racing interest. I don’t think any of us know just how much this virus is going to play out on the economy and on people. We’re all assuming it’s going to be somewhat tough in a lot of areas.

“It’s pretty serious stuff, it’s going to hurt in many ways and I think it might be quite tough for the breeding industry for a few years. As a result, we have reduced both of our stallions, I Am Invincible and Hellbent, to a degree that we think is very fair in the marketplace.”

In the last four years, I Am Invincible has covered more than 200 mares a season with his 2019 matings representing a who’s who of the Australian racing industry.

Mares believed to be in foal to I Am Invincible currently include two of the greatest Australian racemares of all time, Winx and Black Caviar, as well as Winx’s dam Vegas Showgirl and Black Caviar’s daughters Oscietra and Out Of Caviar.

Add in the likes of Group 1 winners English, Guelph, Lucia Valentina, Mossfun, Princess Coup, Royal Descent, Samantha Miss, Shamal Wind, Shoals and Snitzerland, as well as proven producers Ballet D’Amour, Essouaira, Extremely, Lipari, Listen Here, Pinocchio, Pontiana, Stylish Bel and The Broken Shore, and I Am Invincible’s dominance - both on the racetrack and in the breeding barn - looks set to continue for many years yet.

“In the last two years he has definitely covered some outstanding mares,” Mitchell said. “He’s covered some of the elite mares in Australia and he’s had a phenomenal time on the track.

“The last two years, he’s had 40-odd stakes winners, he’s had six sons and one grandson retire to stud in the last three years. He’s been dominant in the sales ring and he throws such good-looking horses and obviously they can run, they perform week in and week out. He really can’t be doing any better."

The reduction to I Am Invincible’s fee comes on the back of a year in which he was crowned the champion sire of two-year-olds by winners in 2018/19. That season also saw him produce 28 stakes winners, topping the previous record of 26 held by both Danehill and Snitzel.

This year, 102 I Am Invincible yearlings went through the sales ring, all conceived during the 2017 season when the stallion stood for A$110,000. Selling at an average of A$460,281, the average return to breeders was more than four times his service fee.

Mitchell said that the days of I Am Invincible serving 200-plus mares are likely to be over, with the rising 16-year-old set for a smaller book in 2020.

“He’s getting a bit older so we're going to give him a reduced book,” he said. “We're going to trim him up a bit, we want to be in a position to look after him as he reaches what very well could be the prime of his career.”

Joining his sire once again on the Yarraman Park roster is Hellbent. The 2018 William Reid Stakes winner will serve his third book of mares this year, having covered 182 mares in 2018 and 156 mares in 2019.

“His books are full of quality and they are a lot better than I Am Invincible’s books were at the same stage,” Mitchell said. “He’s not far off full already, he’s filling up already and he'll be full in the next few weeks. However, we feel that the reduction to A$20,000 is the right thing to do in this marketplace.

“We’re very happy with his foals, they are so like his father’s foals. It’s quite amazing. We believe he’s a great chance and he will again cover a good book.”

Mitchell is grateful for the support of the breeding industry and hopes to be able to return that support through what is likely to be a testing period.

“I’d like to thank all the breeders who have supported both our stallions,” Mitchell said. “Certainly I Am Invincible has more than paid his way and people have had a huge amount of success, both on the racecourse and in the sale ring where he is the dominant stallion.

"I’m sure that the people that have supported Hellbent will be equally well-rewarded.”

Yarraman Park sends four to Chairman’s Sale

Yarraman Park will also be represented by four mares in Friday's virtual Inglis Chairman’s Sale: recently-retired dual Group 1 winner In Her Time, stakes winners Longport and Lubiton and stakes-placed Calming Influence.

Both Lubiton and Calming Influence are offered in foal to I Am Invincible.

While In Her Time may be the consignment’s highest-profile member, the other three are notable additions in their own right.

“They are a classy group,” Mitchell said. “Lubiton will only be having her second foal. Her first foal is a very nice Hellbent. She’s a nice running, good sort of Snitzel mare.

"She’s got to be attractive to most commercial studs, or anyone who wants to buy a nice, young mare really.

“Calming Influence is being sold to dissolve a partnership, for legitimate reasons. She’s got a nice yearling by I Am Invincible with Toby Edmonds up in Queensland, she’s got a weanling filly and she’s being sold back in foal to him. She’s pretty much got her bases loaded; if things went the right way, she’d become very valuable, very quickly.

“Longport produces exceptional foals. She had a lot of ability on the track, defeating Group 1 winners such as Norzita and Dear Demi.

"Longport would be a great investment for any breeder - her foals are very consistent, they sell well and are in some of Australia’s leading stables.”

The Inglis Chairman’s Sale will take the form of a virtual sale and will begin at 3pm local time.

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