EXCITING SPRINTER RAIDO WINNING AT NEWCASTLE- RESUMES ON FRIDAY NIGHT AT CANTERBURY

I put in a very good week at Scone where I inspected the yearlings at many of the farms I buy from. You can never spend enough time doing research on the families of the youngsters we have short listed.  I must say some of drafts of yearlings I inspected at the bigger studs had their best group of yearlings I have inspected for some time.

While I’m not going to highlight the yearlings I am most interested in I have found a high quality staying colt that I would love to secure.  He is all class and will develop into a superb three year old.  I expect he will fetch about $200,000 but you can never be certain until the sale commences.  If you are interested in getting into this colt please get in touch.  

I’m am confident the colt market will be strong with our dollar making our sales looking very attractive to international buyers, particularly the Chinese.

I will commence further inspections on 2 January at the Gold Coast and would hope to give our vet a list no later than 6 January.  He’ll need a day to check the horses and x-rays.  

My aim is to purchase about six or seven yearlings from the sale.  I am thrilled I purchased the I Am Invincible and Hinchinbrook yearling fillies recently.  I still have some of the I Am Invincible filly available. She is a terrific buy.   

NATIONAL JOCKEY’S TRUST

I was surprised with the response I got to my story on the difficulties faced by many jockeys and track work riders once they finish their careers in the saddle.  

The challenges faced by them are so similar to those faced by many retired Rugby League players who are receiving terrific support through ‘The Men of League Foundation’ (MOL).  Perhaps members of the National Jockey’s Trust could meet with the MOL to see if their model could help them.  It is certainly worth considering as the MOL do a marvellous job.

ON THE TRACK

Tonight at Canterbury we have Raido and Naranja kicking off their preparations.  Both have trialled nicely heading into their races.  This afternoon Bella Venus heads to Devonport, tomorrow we have Annaman at Doomben and on Sunday Stimuli may head to Hawkesbury although he has a poor barrier draw.

I AM INVINCIBLE FILLY OUT OF BELLE AMICI 2014

Darren Weir to train in Victoria- 10 shares @ $10,500

The filly pictured above is a terrific filly by the outstanding young sire I Am Invincible from the well related Catbird mare Belle Amici.  I have inspected her four times at Yarraman Park since May and was keen to purchase her.  She is a very good type of filly with a good hindquarter, great conformation and a attractive head.

She vetted out without any issues and was reared at Yarraman Park one of Australia’s most well respected boutique nurseries.

The filly is an October foal and will be broken in in February/ March of 2016 with a view to giving her every chance to run as a two year old.  She comes from a very precocious family with Belle Amici’s ½ brother Restless winning as a two year old and being stakes placed as well.  He was placed in six of his seven starts as a two year old and went on to win 10 races including four at Group or stakes level and $578,305 in stakes money.

The first three dams have had 17 to race with 15 individual winners which is exceptional.  To me this looks Belle Amici’s best mating.

I AM INVINCIBLE

I Am Invincible was Australia’s Leading First season Sire in 2013/14 Season by both stakes money and individual winners.  In fact in his first season he gapped the opposition with as many winners as the next three sires on the list.  In his second season he continued the good work finishing 2nd to Medaglia d’Oro for the stakes earnings. Medaglia d’Oro figures were somewhat distorted with him having the Golden Slipper winner which accounted for over half his stakes earnings.  Once again I Am Invincible had the most individual winners in this year.  

55.1% of I Am Invincible’s runners won during the season with him being the only sire in the top 10 on the 2nd season list standing in Australia to break the half century.  At the completion of the 2014/15 Season he was 3rd to Fastnet Rock and Street Cry on the National 3 Year Old List with both these sires having far stronger books of mares than I Am Invincible.

I Am Invincible’s duel Group 1 winning son Brazen Beau has been purchased by Darley and is standing this season at a service fee of $44,000.  He was also placed 2nd in the Group 1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot.  

I Am invincible had his service fee raised to $55,000 this breeding season and was fully booked out in a matter of days and Yarraman Park are already taking bookings for next season.

BELLE AMICI

As I wrote earlier Belle Amici is well related and by the Golden Slipper winner Catbird.  Catbird was a very well bred horse with a particularly strong female line.  Catbird’s stud career was cut short but he did a good job at stud and he is proving to be a very capable broodmare sire with the horses of the Group and Stakes of the calibre of Hawkspur, Catkins, Mystic Prince, Lady Royale, Atacama, Real Charm, Pinch River, Silversands and Entisaar coming from his daughters.

Belle Amici is out of the outstanding race mare Let’s Hurry the winner of 8 races including three at Group 2 level and one at Group 3 level.  She was also placed twice at Group 1 level and was 4th in the VRC Oaks and SAJC Goodwood Handicap.  All seven of her foals to race were winners.

One of the strong characteristics of I Am Invincible is that he crosses well with almost any sire line and he has in most cases upgraded the performance of the mares he has served.  In fact there is no particular sire line that stands out with his 15 stakes performers to date being represented by 14 different broodmare sires.  

It should be remembered he stood for only $11,000 in his first season and while he was a standout as a type didn’t get the ‘A’ grade mares many of the other first season sires received.  This has now changed and I am expecting his progeny which pass the vet to be out of our reach in next year’s yearling sales.

I am thrilled to have this filly join our team and look forward to her wearing our colours.

2yo filly Husson Boots as a yearling- a strong winner of a jump out at Doomben recently