BROTHERS Arthur and Harry Mitchell, of Yarraman Park in New South Wales, have had a whirlwind few years on the back of their hugely exciting and talented young sires I Am Invincible and Hinchinbrook.
I Am Invincible burst on to the scene during the 2013-14 season when he took first-season honours in three categories – winners, stakes winners and earnings – and his younger studmate Hinchinbrook followed in his footsteps when crowned champion first-season sire the next season. No mean feat when you consider the pair make up two thirds of Yarraman Park’s roster that is completed by Zeditave stallion Magic Albert.
I Am Invincible was the first stallion to stand in Australia by the Irish National Stud’s star resident Invincible Spirit, who shuttled down under four times up until 2006, in which year he had 19 yearlings sell for an average price of A$31,000 (£14,928/€19,493).
A Group 3 and Listed-winning sprinter, I Am Invincible was one of only a handful of stakes winners in Australia for Invincible Spirit, although they included top-notch fillies in the shape of Yosei and Spirit Song.
The Mitchells were keen to secure I Am Invincible despite his sire being relatively unknown in the southern hemisphere and they have been hugely rewarded.
His first crop yielded 15 winners from 45 starters, including the exceptional sprinter Brazen Beau, who went on to land the prestigious Coolmore Stud Stakes and Newmarket Handicap before just being touched off by Undrafted in last year’s Diamond Jubilee Stakes.
The former Chris Waller inmate covered his first book of mares at Darley’s Northward Park last year and has shuttled to the operation’s Dalham Hall Stud for the upcoming breeding season, where he will command a fee of £10,000.
“You always buy a stallion with the hope they’ll succeed,” says Arthur Mitchell. “But we didn’t really foresee this level of success for I Am Invincible.
“We were very lucky to get him. We always loved the horse. We knew him from when he was yearling – he’d had issues – but we knew he was very fast. However, it all came down to looks and from the first time we went down to see him, we just loved him.
“We quite liked the fact he was by Invincible Spirit, who stood in Victoria and probably didn’t get much of a chance down there. Although he wasn’t that successful, he still produced a few good horses and of course the Danzig line works incredibly well in Australia, with the likes of Danehill. We could also still send the Danehill-line mares back to him, which was a help, and that has been quite successful too.
“When the foals started coming out we were excited and away we went.”
A number of shrewd judges have said you can see an I Am Invincible from a mile off and Mitchell believes that has been a factor in his success.
“He’s a dominant colour sire – he really stamps them and throws good-looking bay and brown horses, who, importantly, get to the races,” says Mitchell. “Although he’s a big horse – he’s 16.3 hands – he doesn’t throw great big horses. They’re well-sized, athletic types.
“No disrespect to Invincible Spirit, but I think I Am Invincible is a much better looking horse. He’s a beauty.”
I Am Invincible had 19 yearlings sell for an average price of A$207,105 on the Gold Coast last week during the Magic Millions Yearling Sale. They were the last crop bred off his lowest fee of A$11,000, which rose to a career-high A$55,000 last season, during which he covered 198 mares.
“They sold really well last week, beyond our expectations,” says Mitchell. “Some of the pedigrees on show at Magic Millions last week were pretty light, but, ironically, his yearlings next year probably won’t make as much out of the Group-winning mares bred off a A$27,500 fee.
“We got behind him during his first few years at stud. However, we couldn’t send the cream of our mares because they are part-owned with other clients. It’s difficult to say let’s send our best mares to a first-season sire, who’s unproven.
“He’s done it the hard way. He started with a very low base of mares, but he got good numbers
“Invincible Spirit started off a low base and improved with the better mares, so we’re hoping we can go the same way. His fee certainly won’t be going down next year and the interest in the horse has been phenomenal.”
With Invincible Spirit flying in Europe, there has been plenty of interest from studs looking to acquire the services of I Am Invincible, but Mitchell does not foresee him shuttling any time soon.
“We’ve had lots of inquiries from Europe,” he says. “But at this time he won’t be shuttling. I’m a big believer in not over- working them. He owes us nothing, we’ve done well out of him, and he covers big books down here, so there is no need to shuttle him at the moment.”
Mitchell was always keen to secure the services of Hinchinbrook, as he was born and raised at Yarraman Park before going on to win at Group 3 level over 6f as a two-year-old. He also placed in several Group 1s, including the William Reid Stakes, in which he was third to Black Caviar.
Hinchinbrook also had the added appeal of being a Fastnet Rock three-parts brother to Snitzel, who has made a sensational start to his second career at Arrowfield Stud.
Hinchinbrook, who covered 119 mares at A$16,500 during his first season, was represented by eight first-crop winners, headed by Group 1 J.J. Atkins winner Press Statement, who like Brazen Beau is trained in Sydney by Waller. Now three, the colt struck in the top-flight Caulfield Guineas last year and has assisted with propelling his sire to the head of the second-season sire list.
“We knew all about Hinchinbrook, as he was born at Yarraman Park,” says Mitchell. “My brother, Billy, bought his dam Snippets’ Lass as a yearling and trained her – she was pretty useful – and up until this year she had the record-priced filly in the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, a A$1.4 million daughter of Redoute’s Choice.
“However, Snippets’ Lass died of equine influenza, which was horrendous, after foaling Hinchinbrook. He was raised on a nanny mare and, following what happened, was always going to be kept by his breeder Francois Naude, who still owns a big chunk of him.”
Mitchell adds: “We always kept a close eye on him. We were probably lucky he didn’t run at Royal Ascot in 2011 because if he’d won, he’d have been out of our price range. Apparently he was working better than Star Witness, who just got beat in the King’s Stand Stakes.”
Mitchell was also very keen to secure a son of Fastnet Rock, who has established himself as an outstanding sire in Australia with the likes of Atlantic Jewel, Foxwedge, Irish Lights and Mosheen.
“Fastnet Rock is a great sire down here,” he says. “He can get you a two-year-old and a three-year-old. I’m surprised by how he’s done in Europe. I have a horse by him up there and people tell me his stock want middle distances and wet tracks, which I don’t get.
“He can get you really smart, precocious types who train on down here. Often there’s no correlation between what happens in the northern and southern hemispheres, it’s strange. Danehill was a freak, who could cut it in both.”
Mitchell always has his ear to the ground in search of future talent.”We’ve been very lucky to have a pair of horses like I Am Invincible and Hinchinbrook,” he says. “The competition is so strong and stallions off the track are so expensive now, we’ve been very lucky. The key is to find the next one.
“We can’t compete for the top-end stallions, but the ones we’re after still have to fit a certain criteria. We would be looking for a colonial-bred horse.
“They have to be all about speed – a good-looking fast two-year-old. That’s what works in Australia, but you have to remember there are several studs looking for a similar type, making it difficult.”
Article by Tom Pennington – Racing Post – http://bloodstock.racingpost.com/news/bloodstock/whirlwind-for-home-of-exciting-i-am-invincible/2019710/top/
