With
more than double the number of stakes-winners of any other sire this season, Yarraman
Park’s I Am Invincible enjoyed another super Saturday with a new stakes-winner
in Crack the Code, an unbeaten Blue Diamond contender in I Am Immortal and the winning
return of established star filly Fiesta.
Exciting colt I Am Immortal produced another blazing display of sustained speed
to win the Group III MRC Blue Diamond Prelude at Caulfield on Saturday for the Anthony
Freedman stable.
The colt won his only previous outing in the Listed MRC Blue Diamond Preview
last month and took another step forward with this long neck victory over 1100
metres with Ben Melham in the saddle.
"He’s a very good colt this horse,” Melham said.
"He just wanted to run through the bridle a bit in the middle stages and that
just made him a little bit vulnerable late.
"He’s still learning and he’s got a very bright future.
"He was a little bit empty late but knowing Anthony and the way he trains, he has
probably still has improvement in him.”
A $200,000 Inglis Easter purchase from the Yarraman Park draft for Anthony
Freedman Racing/ Dream Thoroughbreds, he has already won over $217,000 in
prizemoney runs for a big syndicate and carries the Dream Thoroughbreds colours
with Yarraman Park also sharing in his ownership.
Bred by Yarraman Park in partnership, I Am Immortal is a three-quarter
brother-in-blood to smart stakes-winning sprinter Whypeeo and is the first
winner for Group II winner Meliora.
Yarraman Park sold the current yearling from Meliora, a filly by Hinchinbrook,
for $600,000 at Magic Millions to Boomer Bloodstock.
I Am Immortal made it a winning stakes double at Cauflield for I Am Invincible,
who struck earlier in the day with progressive three year-old filly Crack the
Code winning the Group III Kevin Hayes Stakes over 1200 metres.
Beaten only once in four previous starts, Crack the Code enjoyed the run of the
race for Damien Oliver and was strong to the line to win by three-quarters of a
length.
"She's a good filly, isn't she?" said winning trainer Mick Price.
"No need to go past 1200 metres with her, keep her fresh and we take her
to the beach regularly enough.
"There's are carnival right in front of her and all I say I need to space
her runs and keep her light on her feet and don't go past 1200m."
Carrying the colours of Darren Dance's Australian Thoroughbred Bloodstock,
Crack The Code advances her record to four wins from five starts with earnings
of $283,000.
She was a $170,000 purchase by Australia Thoroughbred Bloodstock/CB Bloodstock
out of the Yarraman Park Stud draft at the 2017 Magic Millions Gold Coast
Yearling Sale.
Crack the Code is a half-sister to the Group I WATC Railway Stakes winner
Covertly, Group III winner So Secret and stakes-winner Secret Link, being the 13thfoal
and tenth winner from 11 to race out of the 3-time stakes-winner Most Secret.
A sister to WATC Listed Gimcrack Stakes winner Ebony Magic, So Secret died in
May 2017 and Crack The Code is her final foal.
Crack The Code becomes the 43rd stakes-winner for I Am Invincible who
covered 223 of the cream of Australia's broodmares last spring at a fee of
$192,500.
The day got even better for I Am Invincible in Sydney where quality filly
Fiesta resumed from her summer spell to beat Golden Slipper winner Estijaab in
the $1million Inglis 3YO Sprint.
A brilliant winner of the Darley Princess Series during the spring, the Chris
Waller trained Fiesta (image Steve Hart) was well tuned with two recent barrier trials under her
belt and surged to the line to win the 1200 metre sprint by three-quarters of a
length for Glyn Schofield.
"She's such a versatile filly," Waller said.
"She raced as an early two-year-old through to a Golden Slipper.
"She raced successfully as an early three-year-old and now has done it
again as a late three-year-old.
Waller was quick to give a lot of credit to Denise Martin of Star Thoroughbreds,
who purchased the filly from Inglis Classic in 2017 for $150,000 out of the
Fairhill Farm draft.
"A typical Denise Martin product," he said.
"She buys a really good product, they run early and keep running."
The trainer also enjoyed the initiative of a big raceday and the $1million
sprint.
"These big money races, they bring the people here, it's what gets people
watching at home," he said.
"That's what this sport is all about."
Bred by Mike O’Donnell of Fairhill Farm, Fiesta has won over $1.1 million in prizemoney and is the second winner from Now
Now, a five time winner by Danehill Dancer (IRE) from the family of
stakes-winners Charm Scene Land, Stick Around and Kingsgate.
Now Now has a yearling colt by Outreach, a weanling colt by Capitalist and has
been entered in the Inglis Chairman’s Sale in foal to Pierro.
I Am Invincible is the leading Australian sire by winners and importantly
stakes-winners with his 22 stakes-winners this season more than double the
number of the next best sire.