While I Am Invincible was being paraded before a huge crowd at Yarraman Park on Friday afternoon, Australia’s reigning champion sire was also quietly adding another stakes-winner to his tally!

A first stakes-winner for the new season for the newly crowned champion stallion, the Tony Gollan-trained Garibaldi edged out Axe in Friday’s $150,000 Listed Atlas Golf Services Goldmarket (1200m) at the Gold Coast.

Ridden by Ryan Maloney, Garibaldi left it until the final stride to win by a short-half-head.

In opening his stakes account, the 6yo son of I Am Invincible advances his record to seven and seconds from 30 starts with earnings of $459,175.

Few would have been happier than Zoe Daly, who purchased a 2.5% interest in Garibaldi for $6.000 off G1G Racing and Breeding at the 2021 Inglis June (Early) Online Sale.

Maloney said Garibaldi was unlucky in his most recent start at Doomben when he motored home after a slow start to just miss behind Snowzone.

“He was stiff the other day. Had he got out a little earlier, it would have been a different scenario,” Maloney said.

“Today, the main objective was to get him to step, which he did. I had to wait until Gogol dropped off, and we got there just in time.”

A $475,000 but for Boomer Bloodstock (FBAA) / Gollan Racing / Aquis from the Carramar Farm draft at the 2018 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale, Garibaldi is the best of three winners from six to race out of the Exceed And Excel mare Sonnenblume.

A three-quarter sister to Group I CF Orr stakes winner Shinzig and dual Listed stakes-winner Strada, Sonnenblume has a Capitalist filly that was a $280,000 purchase for Gollan Racing / John Foote Bloodstock (FBAA) / Black Soil Bloodstock at the 2022 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale.

Garibaldi is the 81st stakes-winner for I Am Invincible.

Gollan hopes to achieve a similar result from another son of I Am Invincible when Nettuno puts his unbeaten record on the line in the Group III San Domenico Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill on Saturday.

Image: Grant Peters-Trackside Photography