I Am Invincible’s dynasty surges as Invincible Ibis claims Hong Kong Derby laurels
Invincible Ibis capped off a brilliant 24 hours for I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit) as a sire of sires when the son of Hellbent produced a dominant display to win Sunday’s Hong Kong Derby (Listed, 2000m) at Sha Tin.
On Saturday, Yarraman’s stalwart stallion’s credentials as a top notch grandsire came to fore once again courtesy of his dual Group 1 winner Home Affairs’ son Guest House taking out the biggest juvenile prize of all, the Golden Slipper Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) at Rosehill.
Ridden by Hugh Bowman and trained by Mark Newnham, the Australian-bred Invincible Ibis made amends for his second-placed finish in the second leg of the Four-Year-Old Triple Crown, the Hong Kong Classic Cup (Listed, 1800m), with a convincing length and a quarter victory over New Zealand-bred Numbers (Tivaci).
It was redemption for Mark Newnham, who had gone agonisingly close in last year’s Hong Kong Derby when his charge My Wish (Flying Artie) was narrowly denied by Cap Ferrat (Snitzel).
The final time of 1.59.43 was not only a new race record, but a new track record for 2000 metres at Sha Tin, beating the previous standard which had been set back in 2018.
“Today’s a fantastic day… [I feel] completely opposite to last year that’s for sure,” Newnham said.
“It was just a really smooth race to watch… at the corner it was just going to be, ‘is he good enough?’ And probably a furlong into the straight I was pretty confident he was going to be strong late.
“He’s a horse that uses his energy well, relaxes… and against your own age group you don’t have to be the superior stayer, but he’s run fantastic time today and the way he hit the line, it’s not one of those things where you’d be doubtful again,” added Newnham.
Bred by Adrian Goonan, Invincible Ibis was purchased by Kilgravin Lodge and Waikato Bloodstock for $80,000 from the Widden Stud draft at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale in 2023, before being picked up by his trainer for $425,000 at the New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run Sale a few months later.
He is out of the 11-time winner My Dear Friend (General Nediym), herself a half-sister to South African champion Harry’s Friend (Haradasun).
Widden Stud’s Antony Thompson said: “A great result and a huge thrill for the entire Widden team to have foaled, raised and sold the winner of Hong Kong’s most prestigious race.
“It was also incredibly special to see our great friends Mark Newnham and Hugh Bowman doing Australia proud on such a big stage.
“We’re delighted for the team at Kilgravin Lodge – the colt showed enormous potential early on, which was reflected in a strong result for them, and it’s fantastic to now see Invincible Ibis fulfil that promise.”
The result provided Hellbent – who stands alongside his father at Yarraman Park – with his 11th individual stakes winner. The Mitchell Family’s operation will offer all three Hellbent’s catalogued yearlings at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, which gets under way in Sydney on Sunday.
I Am Invincible has 41 yearlings set to come under the hammer during the two-day sale, while Coolmore’s Home Affairs is represented by 17 youngsters.
The result is the third time in the past four seasons that the winner of the Hong Kong Derby has been an Inglis graduate, with Invincible Ibis joining Cap Ferrat (2025) and Voyage Bubble (Deep Field) (2023) as winners of the time-honoured contest.
The win of Invincible Ibis follows that of Inglis Classic Sale graduate Little Paradise (Toronado) in the Hong Kong Classic Mile (Listed, 1600m) and Inglis Premier Sale graduate Stormy Grove (Toronado) in the Hong Kong Classic Cup.