https://www.racecafe.co.nz/forums/index.php?/rss/1-racecafe-forums.xml/List of latest posts on RaceCafe ForumsenMonday One of the great mysteries of modern breeding – besides Wootton Bassett’s superpowers as a sire, Sea The Stars turning out to be more of a stamina influence at stud than his stronger-staying half-brother Galileo, and Muhaarar’s escape from the vortex of commercial failure – has been Invincible Spirit’s pretty poor record as a broodmare sire. I first looked into this curious phenomenon in Good Morning Bloodstock five years ago. At that point, Weatherbys credited the Irish National Stud stalwart as the sire of 600 broodmares who had produced 1,838 foals of racing age. Some 612 (33.3 per cent) of those were winners, 30 (1.6 per cent) were black-type winners and ten (0.5 per cent) were Group winners. Invincible Spirit’s only two Group 1-winning maternal grandchildren up to that point were Desert Encounter and Sound Of Freedom, who had struck in the Canadian International and Premio Lydia Tesio respectively. None had achieved the feat in Britain or Ireland. In contrast, Oasis Dream, his near contemporary also by Green Desert, boasted a 42.3 per cent strike-rate of winners to foals of racing age, 3.8 per cent black-type winners to foals of racing age and 2.2 per cent Group winners to foals of racing age as damsire when I wrote the article in the autumn of 2021. He was well on his way to becoming a renowned broodmare sire. I made sure I was fair to Invincible Spirit, noting that Oasis Dream had covered better mares from the outset of his career and therefore had a few more crops of fancily-bred daughters in the breeding cycle, and so I also compared him with Acclamation, who was of a similar vintage and also became a major sire from a lower starting point in terms of fee and expectations. But Acclamation also outpointed Invincible Spirit where it mattered most, in bigger races. His strike-rate of winners to foals of racing age as broodmare sire was slightly lower, at 32.1 per cent but, crucially, he managed better ratios of black-type winners to foals of racing age (2.7 per cent) and Group winners to foals of racing age (1.3 per cent). It was hard to fathom what was going on. Invincible Spirit was then, and is still, a brilliant sire in possession of an outstanding pedigree, being not only by Green Desert but also out of the Prix de Diane heroine and prolific producer Rafha. He had also served his first ‘better’ book as long ago as 2007, following his feat of delivering a then-record 35 individual winners in Europe in his freshman season in 2006, and had received hundreds upon hundreds of well-bred and/or high-achieving mares in the years that followed as he amassed more talented progeny, so ought to have had good ammunition in all the best broodmare bands in Europe. Invincible Spirit’s lack of celebrity maternal grandchildren looked like being simply a statistical quirk: the exception that proves the rule that top sires also become top broodmare sires. Matters have improved a little in the intervening half-decade, with all of his key strike-rates from foals of racing age as broodmare sire having risen. His basic winners ratio has increased from 33.3 per cent to 37.7 per cent; his black-type winners ratio has gone from 1.6 per cent to two per cent; and his Group winners ratio has edged up from 0.5 per cent to 0.8 per cent. Perhaps more importantly, as far as his reputation with broodmare buyers goes, he has also featured as damsire of some starrier individuals since 2021 – the likes of 2,000 Guineas hero Notable Speech, crack sprinters Mgheera, Sajir and Starlust and high-class two-year-olds Flotus, Trillium and Victoria Road. It has to be said, though, that Invincible Spirit still lags behind Oasis Dream and Acclamation in this department. They have more or less maintained the above-mentioned statistics from 2021 and even enhanced them in the odd case. Acclamation’s basic strike-rate of winners to foals of racing age as broodmare sire has gone from 32.1 per cent to 36.9 per cent, for instance: a bonus from more of his better-bred daughters coming of age as broodmares, probably. For that reason, I’m presumably not the only one for whom the presence of Invincible Spirit as broodmare sire in a foal or yearling sale catalogue, or as the sire of a filly or mare in a breeding-stock sale, has given fleeting pause for thought. It might not put you off taking the plunge and buying those lots when they have so much else in their favour, but it is difficult to prevent those slightly substandard stats from creeping into considerations. However, Invincible Spirit’s somewhat diminished standing as a broodmare sire might finally soon be a thing of the past, as his daughters have produced three horses who look capable of dominating the mile division in Europe this year: Notable Speech, who returned to his best with a decisive victory in the Lockinge at Newbury on Saturday; Bow Echo, who was an impressive winner of the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket a few weeks ago; and Opera Ballo, who bolted up by three lengths in the Sandown Mile last month, defeating last year’s star miler Field Of Gold and Lockinge third and fourth Zeus Olympios and Dancing Gemini in the process. Believers in nicks might have something to say about that, as Notable Speech is by Dubawi and Bow Echo and Opera Ballo are both by sons of Dubawi, in Night Of Thunder and Ghaiyyath respectively. I certainly wouldn’t discourage any breeder from repeating a similar pattern if the pedigrees and physiques of the sires and the mares complemented each other, but I don’t necessarily think that there is any alchemy at work here, either. In fact, Dubawi has sired only two Group winners out of Invincible Spirit mares from 37 foals of racing age bred on that cross, at a clip of five per cent, which is more than three points below his lifetime strike-rate of 8.6 per cent Group winners to foals of racing age for all his progeny. Night Of Thunder’s strike-rate of Group winners to foals of racing age is meanwhile marginally better with Invincible Spirit mares than overall – five per cent versus 4.4 per cent – but he is outdone in that respect by Dansili, Pivotal and Siyouni. The usual caveats about small sample sizes need to be borne in mind there and, for that reason, there is no point digging into the younger, less established Ghaiyyath’s facts and figures, which are still taking shape. It is far more likely to have been the power of the Darley breeding operation that has bestowed Notable Speech, Bow Echo and Opera Ballo with their bountiful gifts, and enhanced Invincible Spirit’s profile as broodmare sire in the process, rather than any sort of nick. Sheikh Mohammed purchased 12 shares, comprising a 26 per cent interest, in Invincible Spirit during the sire’s sophomore season in 2007, following Lawman’s successes in the Prix du Jockey Club and Prix Jean Prat and Fleeting Spirit’s triumph over Kingsgate Native in the Molecomb Stakes. The sheikh and his family members and associates subsequently supported him with some choice mares and were well rewarded for doing so, breeding from him the likes of Arabian Story, Egot, Inns Of Court, Local Time and Territories. Men of the moment Notable Speech, Bow Echo and Opera Ballo all happen to be out of mares who were the result of the Maktoum family sending mares to Invincible Spirit in 2015, the sire’s first season standing at a six-figure fee. He had earned his pay rise from €70,000 to €100,000 with his three-year-old sons Kingman and Charm Spirit winning seven Group 1s over a mile in 2014. Godolphin homebred Notable Speech’s dam is UAE Oaks runner-up Swift Rose, a half-sister to Pattern winners Wild Beauty and Desert Wisdom out of the Listed-winning Pivotal mare Tulips, a maternal granddaughter of Haydock Sprint Cup and Prix Maurice de Gheest heroine Cherokee Rose. Swift Rose has a two-year-old filly by Dubawi, unnamed and not as yet listed in training, but sadly her foal last year by the same sire died. Bow Echo, bred by his late owner Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum, is the second foal of the deceased three-time winner Aristocratic Lady, a half-sister to stakes-winners Royal Rhyme and Victoria Harbour out of the Kingmambo mare Dubai Queen, a Sandringham Handicap runner-up and half-sister to Sheikh Mohammed Obaid’s pride and joy Dubawi. Opera Ballo was, in turn, bred by Ecurie de Cachene but he is still a true blue as he is out of the Godolphin-bred and owned Dubai Opera, who showed precious little talent on the track but is a full-sister to dual Group 3 winner Lockwood and half-sister to Criterium International runner-up Earnshaw out of Emily Bronte, a Group 3 scorer by Machiavellian. Dubai Opera was sold by Godolphin as a four-year-old in foal for the first time, to Night Of Thunder, for €86,000 at Goffs in 2020. Opera Ballo, her second produce, was bought by Godolphin as a yearling for €600,000 at Arqana two and a half years later. Strange to think that the dams of Notable Speech, Bow Echo and Opera Ballo – the three best horses on RPRs in Europe this season, and with plenty more seemingly up their sleeves – are all out of mares by Invincible Spirit who were born in Darley’s foaling facilities within three weeks of each other in the February and March of 2016, their conception having been inspired by events on the track in 2014. But then 2014 really is turning out to be a monumental year for the breeding industry, and not just because Kingman and Charm Spirit's exploits renewed big breeders’ faith in Invincible Spirit and encouraged them to send better mares to the stallion, which laid the foundations for him proving once and for all that he is a broodmare sire of serious consequence. It was also the year in which future important sires Night Of Thunder, Kingman and Australia fought out the finish to the 2,000 Guineas, Sea The Stars showed he was an elite stallion with his first-crop progeny Sea The Moon and Taghrooda dazzling in victory in Classics, and a vintage crop of freshmen yielded Lope De Vega, Siyouni, Showcasing and Starspangledbanner. That season also brought us the now famous Fillies’ Mile in which the first three, Together Forever, Agnes Stewart and Winters Moon, went on to produce champion City Of Troy, Irish 1,000 Guineas heroine Fallen Angel and the Middle Park Stakes-winning three-parts-brothers Earthlight and Shadow Of Light. There was also a lot more optimism in the market in those days. If only we could turn the clock back.Mon, 18 May 2026 07:08:24 +0000So The corrupt WHO are pushing this 'disease' again after being in Africa for decades pumpung all sorts of vaccines into locals without spending money on health Bloomfield has been replaced by another WHO Puppet after he left NZ to work for the WHOMon, 18 May 2026 06:34:17 +0000Decisions seem to being made with the board that benift certain trainers and its pretty obvious greed is the factor. Extra stake for each dog in the fields will and is having an outcome on animal welfare and dogs breaking down just to run them for money. Money being handed out for travel and each handler not to mention extra youth awards and any of the unsaid goings on in the pipeline. GRNZ meetings have had a consensus that $20 a day will not cut it for retired dogs when the government take over and are asking more to for provide for these dogs retired per day which is by far the best outcome for welfare in the current state of affairs in nz, yet what are they beging paid now?. Greyhound recorder has annoced a story of another Canterbury trainer ( on the board) that is setting up shop in Austraia. You have to wonder if cards were being played some time ago that certain people were in the loop to continue breeding, rehoming etc knowing they will get a foot in the door with more assistance being offered. The big keep getting bigger and the wealthy continue to benift. The RIB and GRNZ have both had a hand in all this all sitting on there hands for years. Come on its really about the money isn't it!Sun, 17 May 2026 23:05:08 +0000For everything that jockey Paco Lopez has accomplished during his nearly 20 years of dominance at Monmouth Park, there's still one major achievement that has eluded him: The Haskell Stakes.View the full articleSun, 17 May 2026 22:09:09 +0000Sun, 17 May 2026 21:49:54 +0000After considering an end to his training career during the COVID-19 pandemic, trainer Chad Summers has found himself on top of the racing world following Napoleon Solo's Preakness Stakes (G1) victory.View the full articleSun, 17 May 2026 19:59:18 +0000Eight-year-old Rothfire takes the Doomben Ten Thousand Stakes (G1), becoming the oldest horse to win the Doomben since it was first run in 1933.View the full articleSun, 17 May 2026 17:44:19 +0000Embroidery's "perfect race" landed a win in the Victoria Mile (G1T) May 17 at Tokyo Racecourse, her third top-level victory.View the full articleSun, 17 May 2026 17:44:19 +0000Grinzinger Moon has now won six of her 10 starts and $102,000 in prizemoney.View the full articleSun, 17 May 2026 06:36:13 +0000Sun, 17 May 2026 06:29:55 +0000