‘He’s what the market wants’ – Move To Strike introduced at $16,500 by Lovatsville
Lovatsville Stud have announced the acquisition of Move To Strike – the first Group 1-winning juvenile by I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit) – who will stand his first season at the Seymour Park-based stud for an introductory fee of $16,500 (inc. GST).
Winner of the Manuwatu Sires Produce (Gr 1, 1400m) at two, Move To Strike was only recently joined on his elusive perch as a two-year-old elite-level winner for his super sire by the unbeaten Inglis Sires’ (Gr 1, 1400m) winner Vinrock, and Lovatsville CEO Sam White is duly delighted to welcome a stallion of such rare air to his roster.
“It’s quite a topical acquisition at the moment given Vinrock’s recent success, in Australia it became quite apparent that he was one of only two Group 1-winning two-year-olds by I Am Invincible,” he told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“We have enormous respect for I Am Invincible and what he’s achieved, Yarraman has created an amazing legacy with him. We’ve already stood a son of Invincible Spirit in Royal Meeting and he produced a Group 1 winner in his first crop in Blue Diamond winner Hayasugi.
“We always thought it interesting that he had never sired an Australian Group 1-winning juvenile, but we knew he’d sired a Group 1-winning two-year-old in Move To Strike in New Zealand and he’s a horse we’ve had our eyes on for a good while.”
Value was at the forefront of Lovatsville’s mind when conjuring up the striking colt’s introductory fee, which they believe offers exactly that to the local breeding community.
“Horses like him are rare,” White said. “He’s a horse for the moment, a horse for the now. He has the speed, the precocity, he’s big, he’s strong, he’s sexy, he’s got the pedigree – he’s what the market wants and he’s priced exceptionally well.
“We’ve got to ensure that we offer breeders a competitive commercial option that can generate a profit for them, so that was very much at the forefront of our minds when assessing the opportunity.
“I think at this fee you provide the chance for people to breed a nice type by a commercial style of horse to go and make money and then come back to the well. We want to leave plenty of money in the bank for the breeders using him so that if they win they make a return on their investment.”
An emerging player on Victoria’s breeding scene, Lovatsville officially launched in 2024 under the leadership of White and already stands a quartet of stallions in Royal Meeting (Invincible Spirit), Fierce Impact (Deep Impact), Generation (Snitzel) and Gold Trip (Outstrip).
Move To Strike comes into the fray boasting a captivating pedigree in addition to his excellent juvenile campaign. A $525,000 purchase for David Ellis from the Baramul Stud draft at the 2023 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, the three-year-old is out of multiple Group-winning and Group 1-placed Shamardal (Giant’s Causeway) mare No Evidence Needed, also the dam of five other winners.
Racing in Te Akau’s silks, the colt was a pre-Christmas winner on debut before being narrowly denied by subsequent Coolmore Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) placegetter and multiple Group winner Bellatrix Star (Star Witness) at his second start in the Eclipse Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m).
He returned a few months later to claim the April Group 1 feature at Trentham, where he came from last at the turn to defeat a high-class field including Group 1 winner Velocious (Written Tycoon) and subsequent Classic winners Savaglee (Savabeel) and Captured By Love (Written Tycoon), who went on to win the New Zealand 2,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) and 1,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) respectively.
Lovatsville will aim for a book of 120-140 mares for Move To Strike, who is set to receive great support from his new ownership group of Seymour Bloodstock, Te Akau and partners with 60 of their own mares, while White added that the horse is garnering plenty of external interstate interest.
“His partnership group are going to support him with a significant amount of mares – the owners are going to send us 60 alone plus the breeding rights holders plus the nomination holders, so he’s going to have great backing but he’s priced at a point where people can make money,” White said.
“He’s the right kind of horse for our business and for the Victorian community and he’s also attracted interest from the Hunter Valley, South Australia and Tasmania, so I think he’ll find a really nice level.
“The market’s clearly got an appetite for a horse like him and we see 120-140 mares being a really good number. We don’t need to be smashing him.
“The ownership involved are primarily breed-to-race, so you’re not going to be competing with them in the ring. That creates rarity in what breeders are offering and I think that range promotes a good balance over a number of years.”