Cover image courtesy of Yarraman Park Stud
Last Saturday marked another good day for I Am Invincible, who notched up six individual winners across the country - an achievement that almost slips under the radar these days, simply because we’ve come to expect such brilliance from the exceptional Yarraman Park Stud stallion.
The headline act was the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained The Three Hundred, who surged clear to register his third career win impressively when leading throughout in the $300,000 G3 Winx Guineas over a mile at the Sunshine Coast. The talented gelding was purchased by Trilogy Racing, and Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott Racing for $400,000 from Yarraman Park’s draft at the 2023 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
Also flying the flag at Flemington was the Ciaron Maher-trained juvenile Jimmy Recard, who made it back-to-back wins when taking out the $150,000 Next Gen Sprinters Series Final.
Purchased for $350,000 by Bennett Racing Pty Ltd, and Ciaron Maher Racing from the 2024 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale again from the draft of Yarraman Park Stud. The talented near black 2-year-old colt produced a sharp turn of foot under jockey Jamie Melham, and showed great determination to score stylishly. He looks a colt with plenty of upside, especially as he matures and steps out over more ground.
“It was a very good day for I Am Invincible on Saturday,” offered Harry Mitchell, in the easy understated drawl that’s become his hallmark.
“The 3-year-old (The Three Hundred) won the Guineas very impressively, and was sold through Yarraman Park, and the 2-year-old in Melbourne (Jimmy Recard) was impressive. He was another Yarraman product, and I know the connections think a bit of him. Once he steps out a bit in trip, he could be even better also.
"I Am Invincible has had a particularly good run with his 2-year-old colts this season.
“He has some really nice horses heading into their 3-year-old seasons, horses like Hidden Achievement, Vinrock, and Hostility, they are all Group 1-performed colts as juveniles, that look exciting.”
I Am Invincible still going as strong as ever
A stalwart of the Yarraman Park Stud roster, I Am Invincible has defied expectations since his rise from relative obscurity to become one of Australia’s most influential sires. Currently sitting in third position on the 2024/25 General Sires Table by earnings, he has sired 191 individual winners of 296 races as of July 7, including 16 stakes winners, for total prizemoney just over $22 million.
His leading earner this season has been the brilliant mare I Am Me, who has contributed just under $2.2 million to that total.
While he remains a prolific source of precocity, I Am Invincible is also the current leader in the 2-year-old sires' premiership by stakes winners, having produced five individual juvenile stakes winners in Australia this season. In total, he has left 13 2-year-old winners.
However, it’s well established that his progeny often improve with time.
“He’s a funny horse, he is a very good sire of 2-year-olds, but a lot achieve higher at three,” Mitchell said.
Harry Mitchell
“There is an element of risk in pushing the 2-year-olds too hard, but I think the trainers have worked that out about his progeny. They can run early, but they train on well if not pushed too hard.
“They (progeny of I Am Invincible) can run early, but they train on well if not pushed too hard.” - Harry Mitchell
“We are very lucky to have him. He leaves great types and they have ability. He has been a three-time Champion Sire in Australia, and he has been in the top-two seven times. He has been a genuine game-changer for us, and if he can finish second or third this season that would be fantastic.”
With a lifetime winners-to-runners ratio of 80 per cent, 1022 winners from 1282 runners, and a remarkable 119 stakes winners at 9.4 per cent stakes winners-to-runners, I Am Invincible’s statistics are staggering, particularly considering his humble beginnings.
I Am Invincible | Standing at Yarraman Park Stud
As the season enters its final weeks, I Am Invincible sits just under $380,000 behind Coolmore Stud's Pride Of Dubai on the prizemoney table. With three weeks remaining, another late-season push could see him secure the runner-up spot again.
“The horse looks great,” Mitchell said.
“We reduced his fee slightly, as we felt it was the right thing to do, and we are hand-picking a little bit. We have had a good response, and we are pretty much full at that 130 mare kind of mark.
“He is an outstanding stallion, and very good value compared to some of the others around, but he is a 20-year-old now, although his health and fertility is good.”
Hellbent: 'A perfect horse to breed to'
Yarraman of course, stands Hellbent, I Am Invincible’s Group 1-winning son, and arguably one of the best value proven sires in the country. A tough, sound colt who won as a two, three and 4-year-old, before he picked up the G1 William Reid Stakes at five, Hellbent is now a Group 1-producing stallion in his own right.
Hellbent | Standing at Yarraman Park Stud
He has sired seven stakes winners to date, led by the elite Group 1-winning mares Magic Time and Benedetta,.
“His progeny that are racing at the moment have been conceived off a $22,000 service fee, and he’s doing a good job,” Mitchell said.
“He sits 14th on the table in terms of prizemoney and produces many winners.
“He has had a good solid year. We are excited as the crops coming through are of superior quality. He has nice yearlings, but his weanlings are even better, and the mares in foal should be even better again.
“We are excited as the crops coming through are of superior quality. He (Hellbent) has nice yearlings, but his weanlings are even better, and the mares in foal should be even better again.” - Harry Mitchell
“We think he is a solid top 10 stallion going forward for sure.”
Demand for Hellbent remains strong heading into the new season. Mitchell, as ever, is clear-eyed and unpretentious in his assessment of their son of I Am Invincible -realistic about where he sits, but confident in what’s coming.
“We have had a really good response, he is nearly full and always serves about 140–150 mares. He has had consistent books his whole career.”
“He’s at that stage where he isn’t elite, but he is proven. He is a perfect horse to breed to as they are sound, sell well, train on as older horses, and are mentally sound also.
“He looks a safe bet - in terms of what you can call a safe bet in this game.” - Harry Mitchell
“A horse like Sunrays has been great for him this year, she has delivered not once, but four or five times. Magic Time has been the same in her career.
“They are sound, commercially solid, have better books coming through, and he looks a safe bet - in terms of what you can call a safe bet in this game.”
It's the right time to breed to Brave Smash
Brave Smash (Jpn), the Japanese-bred sprinter joined the farm a little bit later in his career after originally standing at Aquis Stud, so his first Yarraman-conceived crop will be offered at the 2026 yearling sales.
“He is in a similar boat to Hellbent, and I think it might be the right time to breed to him and jump in,” Mitchell said.
“He (Brave Smash) is in a similar boat to Hellbent, and I think it might be the right time to breed to him and jump in.” - Harry Mitchell
Brave Smash was a tough and versatile racehorse, one who thrived under different training systems, handled international travel with ease, sustained a long racing career, and could perform over a wide range of distances.
He was well tried as a juvenile in Japan, where he had six starts for two wins and three placings. His most notable result as a 2-year-old came with victory in a Listed race over a mile, a fact that adds a layer of irony, given he would later make his name in Australia as a dual Group 1-winning sprinter.
After collecting a couple of stakes placings at three, Brave Smash’s Japanese career came to an end, and he was exported to Australia. Under the ownership of Australian Bloodstock and partners, he flourished, winning the Listed Bendigo Bank Handicap, before going on to elite success in the G1 Futurity Stakes and G1 Manikato Stakes as a 4- and 5-year-old.
Brave Smash | Standing at Yarraman Park Stud
His toughness and longevity were further underlined at six, when he ran third behind Sunlight in the G1 Newmarket Handicap, adding another high-class performance to a decorated career.
"He had great longevity as a racehorse, was a stakes winner in Japan as a 2-year-old, came across to Australia as an older horse, ran a placing in The Everest, and was winning Group 1 sprints as a 5-year-old.” Mitchell said.
“He has proven himself the hard way. And he has got great results, including Kimochi, who was a very good Group 1-winning filly.
“He has done this working from not great mares, so there is a lot of upside with what is coming through, and his book is progressing.
“We are excited to be selling his first yearlings next year, and our partners share that excitement. There will be a nice mix of yearlings offered, as well as ourselves and partners keeping quite a few to race.”
'They coped with it'
At Yarraman Park, toughness isn’t a marketing line - it’s a lived-in philosophy. Their stallion roster reflects it too: no fuss, no flash, just three sires who did the work, trained on, and kept showing up season after season.
“All three of our boys trained on as older horses, particularly Hellbent and Brave Smash,” Mitchell said.
“They raced on and coped with it, and they seem to be able to leave that attribute with their progeny. Brave Smash trained on and travelled extensively, Hellbent was the same. They stayed sound and showed good minds.
“They (three Yarraman Park stallions) raced on and coped with it, and they seem to be able to leave that attribute with their progeny. Brave Smash trained on and travelled extensively, Hellbent was the same. They stayed sound and showed good minds.” Harry Mitchell
It’s the kind of assessment that sums up Mitchell’s approach - dry, straight-talking, and anchored in decades of experience. While others might overplay the upside, he just states the facts and lets the horses do the talking.
“Breeders and buyers are finding it tough out there, and I think there is an appetite for buyers wanting to buy a sound, tough horse that can maximise results and race with longevity for their owners.
“I believe our stallions are able to do that. It takes an element of risk out for buyers, but longevity is key in this game, and our boys were mentally and physically tough.”
One thing Mitchell is particularly proud of is that Yarraman Park has already done the heavy lifting in getting their stallions well-established, an important consideration in a tough market.
“There are a lot of unproven stallions out there and it can be very difficult during those third and fourth years,” he said. “The standard of mares received can drop quite substantially, and it becomes very difficult to bring them back up.”
“The hard work has been done for our boys, so it is a great time for breeders to jump aboard. We are at the stage where, in particular for Brave Smash and Hellbent, we can support them and hope that they continue on.”
The belief is there - but it’s the quiet kind, the kind backed by action. Top-quality mares, loyal partnerships, and seasons of groundwork already done.
“We have sent a lot of Vinnie-quality mares to Hellbent and Brave Smash, so we have supported them strongly the last couple of years in particular. You need to support them, and we have done the hard work. Our partners in those two boys are very committed. They fully believe in them, they have had solid years this season, and we are sure, there are going to be better to come.”
