The rising 17-year-old's held the previous record of 184 in season 2019/20 and has smashed that with an unbeaten double century and more than three weeks of the current term yet to run its course.

The Yarraman Park stallion, whose leading earner this season is the G2 Premier S. winner Libertini with $944,000 in the bank, remains hale and hearty at the Mitchell family’s nursery ahead of another busy breeding season later in the year.

"He’s a remarkable horse and his progeny are very sound and get to the races, that’s half the battle I suppose," Arthur Mitchell told TDN AusNZ.

I Am Invincible will stand the 2021 season at a service fee of $220,000 (inc GST) and remains ever popular with top-end breeders and this year’s stellar book will include the multiple Group 1 winner Arcadia Queen (Pierro).

“He’s in great fettle and will probably cover around 170 mares this season. He might get a few more toward the end, but we are trying to bring him back a few notches, and it will be a very high-quality book again,” Mitchell said.

Nine Group 1 winners

I Am Invincible has sired 64 individual stakes winners, including nine at Group 1 level with his best son Brazen Beau a dual top-flight winner and daughters Loving Gaby and Viddora both also two-time Group 1 heroines.

He currently has a winning strike rate of nearly 79 per cent with an 8.2 per cent stakes winners to runners ratio and progeny earnings in excess of $106 million.

A son of Invincible Spirit (Ire) and the Canny Lad mare Cannarelle, I Am Invincible was originally purchased at the 2006 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale by trainer Toby Edmonds for owners Ray and Brett Gall for $62,500.

He was an easy debut winner as a 2-year-old and then finished third in the G3 Kindergarten S. before he was unplaced when injured in the G2 Todman Slipper Trial.

Gallery: I Am Invincible's nine Group 1 winners

I Am Invincible only made one appearance as a 3-year-old, but the following season in Peter Morgan’s care he won the G3 DC McKay S. and the Sir John Monash S., then a Listed event, and was runner-up in the G1 The Goodwood H. before retiring to Yarraman Park in 2010.

“He’s the easiest horse you’d ever want to have. He doesn’t have any vices and if he hit you, he would apologise. He’s a really kind horse so we’re very lucky,” Mitchell said.

“He’s a big horse, but a very gentle one with good manners and a pleasure to have around. His son Hellbent is very much the same, just very good-natured horses.

“We bought into Hellbent so he is a favourite. We had him in training and he ended up winning a Group 1 for us and we always have favourites among the yearlings every year and hope they can run.”

Hellbent closed out his career with victory in the G1 William Reid S. before his retirement to stand alongside I Am Invincible in 2018.

The latter’s latest winner Pelorus Princess was making her third appearance for trainer Danny O’Brien and strolled home after sitting three-wide on the pace without cover.

“She’s still green and raw and has got a lot to learn. I thought I might have hit the front a bit early, but when I pulled the stick through to the left hand she found plenty,” successful rider, Fred Kersley, said.

Owned by Barragunda Racing, Pelorus Princess was offered at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale by Three Bridges Thoroughbreds and was knocked down for $280,000 with Kennewell Racing and Group 1 Bloodstock signing the ticket.

She is out of the Fastnet Rock mare Fastnet Heart, who is from the family of the dual South African Group 1 winner Linebacker (SAF) (Captain Al {SAF}) and the G1 Winx S. winner Samadoubt (Not A Single Doubt).

Cover image courtesy of Tattersalls

The Melbourne-based Player’s International Thoroughbred Solutions purchased Restitution (Fr) (Frankel {GB}) from the draft of Jamie Railton for 150,000 gns (AU$288,225), the second-highest price of the day, for an undisclosed Australian client.

Richards acted as the eyes and ears on the auction ground and was in contact with Player by phone to land the final bidding blow for the gelding, who followed up a debut third for trainer John Gosden to win over 2300 metres next time out in April.

“He is a lovely type, a big, strong horse by a sire that can do no wrong at the moment and one we all have great regard for,” Player said. “This horse is progressive who we know can stay and has a really great profile for Australia.

“We had a three-way hook-up on the phone with the main owner and Mark. We were comfortable at that level and it was the sort of money we thought the horse would make.

“Auctions are dynamic and that was where we valued him. There was lively bidding and we’re very happy to have him.”

Hong Kong connection

Player served for a period as the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Head of International Races, Sale and Development while Richards, a former National Hunt jockey, worked for the Club in a variety of roles for 20 years.

“Mark and I worked together for a long time and are very strong friends. He is back in England and when I can’t see the horses, I short list some and he looks at others and he can send videos and photos back,” Player said.

“I forward those to key clients and we do the due diligence and find out everything we can. We have a ratings guy we use to review race replays and then it’s a matter of securing the horse.

“It’s a good result of teamwork and it’s come full circle with Mark being the representative of Goffs in the UK and myself in Australasia.

“We’ve gone from the Jockey Club in Hong Kong to Goffs the pair of us, so there's a nice little segway there as well.”

An Australian stable for Restitution, who will be on the first available flight Down Under, has yet to be confirmed.

“We’ll go through the process of selecting the trainer we think will suit the horse best and that’s a very important part of it. He will continue to be exercised until he comes here and is the sort of horse that will be able to acclimatise fairly quickly,” Player said.

“He will get into the system and there will be plenty of races and options for him. He’s lowly enough rated that we can work him through the grades and hopefully we’ve unearthed that diamond in the rough.”

First-hand experience of the great Frankel (GB) was just another attraction for Player to Restitution.

“He was just an outstanding racehorse and I was lucky enough to see him win at two, three and four years of age in England. To see what he is doing at stud is wonderful for the entire industry and long may it continue,” Player said.

Cover image courtesy of Tattersalls

Sheikh’s bid tops

Sheikh Abdullah Al-Malek Al Sabah is the new owner of Man Of The Night (Lot 381), who held the top spot throughout the day after he was knocked down at 175,000 gns (AU$336,260).

The Saudi Sheikh, who has more than 50 horses in training in Britain, was accompanied at the Sale by his son Faisal, who said, “I think he will suit the big handicaps in the UK and then we will send him to Saudi Arabia. He will stay in the UK until October.”

Formerly trained by Richard Hannon for Night Of Thunder's (Ire) owner Saeed Manana, the 4-year-old Man Of The Night won on his debut over six furlongs at two and returned to the winner's circle last month at Doncaster to push his rating to 92.

He led a session in which prices were again pushed up by the strong demand. Of the 159 horses offered before and after racing, 144 found new homes to add 3,445,100 gns (AU$6.6 million) to the the overall tally.

The second-day median was 14,000 gns (AU$26,900) and the average 23,924 gns (AU$45,950). Once again, comparisons are difficult to the shorter format of last year's July Sale, but these figures stand up well to the rising trade witnessed in the few years prior to that.

Family in demand

The Australian-bound Restitution (Fr) (Frankel {GB}) was knocked down to Mark Richards for 150,000 gns (AU$288,225).

Offered as Lot 436 by Jamie Railton, the 3-year-old son of Listed winner Restiana (Fr) (Kendargent {Fr}) has run just twice from the Gosden stable, winning on his second outing at the end of April.

He will now be exported to Australia, explained Richards, who was acting on behalf of Mark Player's International Thoroughbred Solutions.

“Mark is well used to purchasing horses here to go to Australia and the mere fact of me being back here, it is using old contacts and old friends as much as anything else,” said British-born Richards, who is now based in Newmarket after 22 years with the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

“He likes to have someone on the ground to see the horses, knows the sort of horse I will be looking at and said that, if I found anything that might suit, to get in touch. I thought this is a lovely looking horse, hopefully he will acclimatise to Australia and he will head straight there now.”

On Wednesday, Restitution's full sister Tianadargent (Fr) was sold in foal to Mehmas (Ire) for 100,000 gns (AU$192,150). Another sibling, Restiadargent (Fr), won the G2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte and was third in the G1 Diamond Jubilee S. behind Black Caviar (Bel Esprit).

Bear fans

Robson Aguiar is a name more usually associated with the breeze-up sales and, often through his partnership with Amo Racing, he has enjoyed a successful season on the track with juvenile graduates such as Go Bears Go (Ire) (Kodi Bear {Ire}) and Hello You (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), who runs in Friday's G2 Duchess of Cambridge S.

Another son of Kodi Bear, Caio Shark (Ire), was sold through the Aguiar Bloodstock draft on behalf of Amo Racing for 110,000 gns (AU$211,365) after winning at Haydock in May on his third start. Now rated 81, the former Michael Bell trainee (Lot 475) was bought online by SPI Racing.

British syndicates invest

A relatively small Juddmonte draft at this year's July Sale was headed by Diderot (GB) (Lot 517), a 3-year-old son of Bated Breath, who was bought to race on in Britain for a syndicate at 90,000 gns (AU$172,900).

“We will give him a couple of weeks before making a decision where he will go into training. He could be for Elite Racing, Axom or the Owners’ Group, we haven't decided yet,” said Dan Downie, who runs the Axom and Elite Racing syndicates. “He looks really progressive and there should be some improvement.”

The 88-rated Diderot, a half-brother to the GI Beverly D S. runner-up Grand Jete (GB) (Dansili {GB}), was previously trained in Ireland by Ger Lyons and won a mile maiden at Dundalk on the second of his four starts to date.

Another to bring the hammer down at 90,000 gns (AU$172,900) was the 100-rated Above (Fr) (Anjaal {GB}), a former colour-bearer for Qatar Racing who was most recently seventh in the Wokingham S. at Royal Ascot. He has now switched from Archie Watson's stable to Stuart Williams after the Newmarket trainer was the successful bidder on behalf of an unnamed syndicate.

“The plan is to stay in Britain with him and try and win a big handicap. We'd like to try to win something like the Ayr Gold Cup,” Williams said of Lot 557.

Cover image courtesy of Trish Dunell

Members voted unanimously for the merger, which will see the birth of Auckland Racing Incorporated on August 1, 2021, and a mandate to sell valuable land holdings at both Pukekohe Park and Ellerslie.

Investment returns will then be injected back into stakes with a target of NZ$100,000 Saturday races and a Strathayr track to be laid at Ellerslie with work to begin in March, 2022.

Counties members gave the green light to the merger proposal at a meeting on Tuesday and Auckland members voted to seal the deal on Thursday at a meeting attended by about 130 members.

Auckland Racing Club Chief Executive, Paul Wilcox, was delighted with the outcomes and stressed it was for the betterment of all New Zealand racing and its stakeholders, and to hopefully turn heads further afield.

“We have to keep our owners and increase ownership in New Zealand and retain the talented horses. This is about other clubs in the country and keeping those horses that could potentially be sold because the owners will be getting a decent return,” Wilcox said.

“Our trainers’ ranks are tight and we want to keep the likes of Jamie Richards, Andrew Forsman and Stephen Marsh. Then there are some of the new ones like Steve Cole, Cody Cole and Daniel Miller and we don’t want them to think about going overseas.

“We’re not just doing this for the Auckland region, it’s for the industry countrywide.”

Wilcox is also hoping that increased future purses on offer at Ellerslie may attract overseas interests.

“It’s extremely important to retain talent, both equine and human. If you look at New South Wales, there are a lot of jockeys over there that are not riding at the big Saturday meets and they are very, very good jockeys,” he said.

“We want to say hey, there’s a lifestyle over here and the ability to race for comparable money so how about increasing the jockey ranks by getting them over here.”

Welcome news

The new venture has now provided the light at the end of the tunnel that domestic participants have been craving for.

“I think it’s wonderful and we saw the performance of the TAB, which was reflected in an increase from New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing to the codes,” Wilcox said.

“Now we have got some good news which will give some positivity to people it’s fair to say have had a pretty shitty time for quite a few years. It’s neat to be involved in something that our members have supported.

“We can hopefully change the landscape and give people hope. At our vote on Thursday, we only had two of the crowd that were there voted against it.”

Among the land packages to be sold will be the famous Ellerslie hill area.

“The hill is probably the one we wanted to be very transparent with, it’s the biggest talking point and there’s other land assets both here and at Counties to be sold,” Wilcox said.

“We will work through a process to ensure we get the proper returns and build that investment portfolio. We believe NZ$250 million can be realised and that will include some land at Counties.

“That is our goal, but it is our responsibility to try and make it much more than that. Having those different pockets of land play a different part in the market and we’re not reliant on residential or commercial, there’s many ways of selling or holding on to the land if the market’s not right."

With Ellerslie to shut its door from March next year to install the Strathayr track, a number of 2023 feature events will be relocated.

“We will work with all the different parties and, for example, with the Karaka Million we have talked freely with Andrew Seabrook at New Zealand Bloodstock,” Wilcox said.

“We think the Karaka Million would be a perfect fit to go to Counties. Then we will work through where the best venue is to pick up the Auckland Cup and the Vodafone Derby.

“Our goal at this stage is that at the back end of 2023 we will start to get back into racing at Ellerslie. From August 1, 2021 to 2026, there will be strategic increases in prizemoney as we go along with the target of NZ$100,000 Saturday races at Ellerslie."

New industry chapter

Counties Racing Club Chairman Mark Chitty, of Haunui Farm, said the merger is a game-changer for thoroughbred racing.

“This marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for our industry. ATR will be aiming to double the average stakes money per race to NZ$100,000 to retain industry participants and attract young people into the industry.

“We have an opportunity now to ensure that the next generation of trainers, owners, breeders, jockeys and racegoers have a reason to stay involved in our sport locally, and in the long-term.

“We were very pleased with the result. A lot of time and effort had gone into it and a lot of consideration, and the result gives you the confidence to go forward.

“We have been given a clear mandate and we believe 100 per cent in what we are doing, so it’s up to us now to implement it and there will be a number of people involved in that implementation.

“I think it is a wonderful thing for the industry and great for northern racing. The development of the Strathayr surface at Ellerslie is going to be very important and then at Pukekohe Park it will be the development of the training facility.

“Alongside that it will be the realisation of the surplus land to the benefit of the industry, how that is reinvested, and those returns will benefit the industry by the way of stakes and improved facilities.”