Yarraman Park

YARRAMAN PARK 
by Rob Burnet 
    Every so often a freshman sire creates a wave of excitement through the auction ring as his first progeny are paraded for buyers, a sire not from the cream of the retiring colts and entires with classic victories to their names, not standing at a heavy-weight stud, but one where the progeny tell the story on their own that the buyers want to see. 
From the moment I Am Invincible (Aus)(Invincible Spirit {Ire})’s first foals were born word spread of their athletic confirmation and that carried through to his first yearlings, and then further to the first crop in stables. 
Then there was the first sale of the 2014 yearling series, the Magic Millions Yearling Sale on the Gold Coast in January. Seven yearlings went through the ring for a gross of $1,680,000, a top price of $440,000 and an average of $240,000. These prices were off an $11,000 service fee. 
    His first yearlings at the 2013 Magic Millions Yearling Sale had averaged $81,667 for nine sold for a top price of $160,000. That was notable enough, but the 2014 results took ‘notable’ to a new level. 
I Am Invincible stands at Yarraman Park, 9 km’s from Scone in the heart of the NSW thoroughbred breeding heartland, the Hunter Valley along with Magic Albert (Aus) (Zeditave {Aus})and Hinchinbrook (Aus) (Fastnet Rock{Aus}). 
He is by the Group 1 winning sprinter and champion European sire Invincible Spirit (Ire), the sire of more than 60 stakes-winners including the wonderful mare Moonlight Cloud (GB) who was retired at the end of 2013. 
His dam Cannarelle (Aus), by Canny Lad (Aus), is unraced as is his second dam Countess Pedrille (Aus), by Zoffany, but further back in the pedigree are the Group 2 winners Mamzelle Pedrille (Aus) (Zoffany) and O’Lonhro (Aus) (Lonhro {Aus}). 
    I Am Invincible’s race record was that of a brilliant sprinter, but he only raced at two and four years-of-age. He won five races at 1000m and 1100m and earned black type winning the Group 3 SAJC DC McKay S. and listed MRC Sir John Monash S., plus he was second to Takeover Target (Aus) (Celtic Swing {GB}) in the Group 1 SAJC Goodwood H. 
Against some who retire off the track the record was modest and Arthur and Harry Mitchell’s Yarraman Park priced him accordingly. 
    “We had seen the horse race obviously and we were looking for a new stallion. We knew how good looking he was, we liked the fact that he was by Invincible Spirit and he had tremendous speed,” said Arthur Mitchell at the Inglis sale complex on Sunday. 
    “I think that the number one thing was his explosive speed. When we went to go to Peter Morgan’s [I Am Invincible’s trainer] to look at the horse and he came out of the box he just blew us away with what a magnificent physical horse he is. He is a stunning horse, 16.2hh, just an unbelievable good looking horse. 
    “But I think sprinting stallions need to have real speed and if you look at history most of the ones in Australia that make it are horses that tend to be on the speed and make the pace. We go back to Biscay (Aus), Bletchingly (Aus), General Nediym (Aus) and I could go on, but the ones that have the real speed make it and that was the real appeal to us. 
    “We liked the fact that he was out of a Canny Lad mare and we thought he was very suitable for our mares. When we bought the horse and paraded him he was a very easy horse to fill because as soon as people saw him they fell in love with him. 
    “He got a good mixture of mares, good, bad and indifferent. We sent a lot of fast mares of our own to him, they were not our best mares, but they were decent mares and they have nearly all come out running. 
“He throws an incredible physical type of horse and he is terribly dominant of his mares. They are all beautifully legged and he is a correct horse himself and he throws really correct horses and they have very good temperaments. 
    “He could be very, very good. We do not quite know where he will end up, but he is fully booked this year and we have not set his fee. Everyone wants to go and obviously they have sold incredibly well. Now all the best trainers have bought them, I do not know if that makes them run any faster, but we will see.” 
    “Being a small to middle size farm we do not totally stand Australian horses and we have stood overseas horses, but it has become very hard to stand overseas horses against the like of Darley and Coolmore. So we try to stick to Australian horses if we can and we like sprinters and we have a lot of sprinting mares,” he said. 
The mix of the Mitchell’s horsemanship, their own broodmare band, and their clients used to sending mares to their Australian bred and raced sires has clicked with I Am Invincible. The market likes what it already bought and is lining up for more. 
    The Mitchell’s are no strangers to top class selling and at the 2006 Easter Yearling Sale they smashed the record price for both a colt at $3 million and a filly at $2.6 million. 
A family operation with ownership of Yarraman Park since 1968 after James Mitchell purchased it from champion jockey, George Moore, they are comfortable at both ends of the selling spectrum. 
For the 2014 Easter Sale they have three of the four I Am Invincible yearlings. They are all fillies, along with a filly by freshman sire Hinchinbrook. 
    Hinchinbrook comes from the other side of developing sires. He is one of the blue bloods, by Fastnet Rock (Aus) (Danehill), out of the multiple stakes winning Snippets (Aus) mare Snippets Lass (Aus) making him a half-brother to Arrowfield Stud’s sire Snitzel (Aus) (Redoute’s Choice {Aus}). He won the Group 3 Skyline S. at two, placed fourth in the Group 1 Golden Slipper and placed at Group 1 level no less than four times. 
In this his first season with yearlings he has had 40 to sell at an average of $66,716 and up to $250,000. 
His start in the barn has been ably assisted by his credentials, as it should, while his older colleague had to do it the hard way with results on the track backing up the good looks of his progeny. 
Right on cue for the 2014 Easter Yearling Sale I Am Invincible displayed his credentials in just that manner when the Robert Smerdon trained filly Lexgetreddy (Aus) won well at Sandown. 
    A good looking filly, Lexgetreddy won the 900m dash by two lengths under Craig Williams, adding further lustre to her sire and incentive for buyers to check the Easter offering. 
    Bred by Yarraman Park, Lexgetreddy is the fifth winner from five foals to race from Group 2 placed Lady Lexus (Aus), a Success Express mare from the family of champion two year-old Luskin Star (Aus). 
Lady Lexus was one of 175 mares covered last spring by I Am Invincible. 
Yarraman Park’s fillies at the sale are lots 464, 471 and 491. 
    Lot 464, out of the Dixieland Band mare Star Band, is from the family of Common World (Spinning World) and further back Group 1 Tattersall’s Tiara winner Pear Tart (Aus) (Dehere). Lot 477, out of the Forest Glow five times winning mare Timber Cinders (Aus), has the current multiple Group 1 winner Boban (Aus) (Bernardini) further down the pedigree page. 
Lot 491 , out of stakes winner Amphritite (Aus) (Statoblest {Ire}), has had five progeny to race, with all winners including the seven times winner Sea Coral (Aus) (Catbird {Aus}). The sale filly is her seventh foal. 
The one Yarraman Park offering by Hinchinbrook is Lot 52, the filly out of the stakes winner Jade Diva (Aus) (Jade Robbery). She has already left two black type winners, both at Group 3 level, with Bliss Street (Aus) (Flying Spur {Aus}) winning the MRC Thousand Guineas Prelude and the WATC Sires’ Produce S. and Jade Marauder (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) the ATC Sweet Embrace S. 
    Yarraman Park will also present Lot 93, the second foal of the multiple stakes winner Madame Pedrille (Aus) (Secret Savings) by Fastnet Rock, as part of their 13 strong draft. 
Another to surely catch attention will be Lot 170, the Denman (Aus) (Lonhro {Aus}) filly out of the Danehill mare Quilt (Aus). This is the 12th foal from the grand producer who has had 10 to race with eight winners including the 12 times and dual Group 2 winner Pinwheel (Aus) by Darley stalwart Lonhro (Aus). 
There might not be a multi-million dollar sale from the draft, but the returns from their exciting sire I Am Invincible will still be spectacular.