Maher hopes to see Tiz Invincible blossom in The Rosebud
Talented daughter of I Am Invincible to take on seven rivals including ‘underrated’ stablemate Griff
With spring just around the corner, some of the biggest stables in the country are preparing to unleash a host of their most exciting prospects.
One of this weekend’s feature events is The Rosebud (Listed, 1100m) at Rosehill and the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace stable will be relying on a pair of runners to provide them with their second stakes win in Sydney in as many weeks.
Having saddled I Am Me (I Am Invincible) to win the Missile Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) last weekend, the powerhouse stable will be hoping Tiz Invincible, another daughter of Yarraman Park’s champion stallion I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit), can follow up last Saturday’s triumph when she tackles The Rosebud. The filly will be joined in the race by her stablemate Griff, a colt by Widden Stud’s second-season sire Trapeze Artist (Snitzel).
Despite having yet to taste victory, Tiz Invincible comes into the race with a big reputation to uphold, having shown enormous talent on both her starts as a juvenile.
Kicking off her career with a fourth-placed finish in Canberra’s premier two-year-old event, the Black Opal Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) in March, the filly backed up that run with a brilliant performance to finish second in the Percy Sykes Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) on April 8, beaten a length and three-quarters by the winner Kristilli (Hellent).
Tiz Invincible began her preparation with a quiet trial under James McDonald over 900 metres at Rosehill, before impressing last time out in an 810-metre hit-out at Warwick Farm on August 4 with McDonald once again in the saddle.
Drawn in barrier one tomorrow, McDonald will get the leg up on the three-year-old and Maher told ANZ Bloodstock News he expects the filly to give a good account of herself.
“She’s the class filly in the field. I was going to start her this weekend or next and chose this race because the 1100 metres and the small field is ideal for her, it also gives her an extra week for her next start,” he said.
“She’ll definitely improve off the run. She’s a little bit wintery, but I definitely think class will get her there. She’s one of our better fillies, we’ve got about five I Am Invincible fillies and mares that are all quite good and are all in Sydney at the moment.”
Purchased by Justin Bahen of Bahen Bloodstock, Ciaron Maher Racing and Eric Lucas for $550,000 from the Segenhoe draft at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, Tiz Invincible hails from one of the most sought after pedigrees in the Stud Book.
Being out of the winning British-bred New Approach (Galileo) mare Amuletum, who is a daughter of 2007 Australasian Oaks (Gr 1, 2000m) winner Anamato (Redoute’s Choice), making her a half-sister to Group 1 winner and now Darley stallion Anamoe (Street Boss) as well as Irish Listed winner Anamba (Shamardal).
Given her pedigree, Maher said he would expect Tiz Invincible to stay further in time and revealed he would be hopeful to set her on a campaign that could include a crack at the Thousand Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) at Caulfield on November 18.
“I think she’ll get further in trip and I would like to think she could probably get a Guineas trip, so that would be good and hopefully that could turn out to be her target,” he said.
Currently the $2.60 favourite to break her maiden in tomorrow’s Listed race, Tiz Invincible has history stacked against her, with only one filly, She’s A Fox (Fastnet Rock) in 2012, having been successful in The Rosebud since its inception in 2011.
The filly will clash with seven rivals tomorrow, including the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained The Instructor (Russian Revolution), who will be out to add a second stakes race to his CV having taken out the Blue Diamond Preview (C&G) (Listed, 1000m) in January and he will be joined in the race by his one-time winning stablemate Introducing (Trapeze Artist).
Among Tiz Invincible’s opponents is her stablemate Griff, who goes into the race fresh from breaking his maiden on his third start over 1200 metres at Warwick Farm on June 12. The colt then returned to the Sydney track for a 813-metre trial, producing a smooth performance to finish second, a length and a quarter adrift of unbeaten filly Taormina (Written Tycoon).
Unlike his stablemate, Griff is rated as one of the outsiders of the field, trading at double-figure odds of $21, but Maher is confident he can outrun his price and believes he could have an exciting future ahead of him.
“He was a very immature two-year-old and has really developed into a nice three-year-old,” said Maher.
“He has still got a fair bit to go because he’s quite scopey, but he’ll definitely run better than his price. He is quite raw and I think he has quite a lot in front of him.”
“It wouldn’t surprise me if he also ended up on a path towards the Guineas. He’ll definitely outrun his odds on the weekend and could be one for the future.”
Bought by Kavanagh Racing Stables for $80,000 when consigned by Widden Stud at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale in 2022, the three-year-old is out of the winning Sebring (More Than Ready) mare Chateau Griffo, who also finished third in the Blue Diamond Preview (F) (Gr 3, 1000m).
He is one of two runners for Trapeze Artist in tomorrow’s contest, with the aforementioned Introducing being the other. The pair, who are amongst the stallion’s ten overall winners, will be aiming to provide the son of Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice) with his first stakes winner.
As the season kicks into top gear, one inmate the Maher and Eustace team will no longer be able to call upon is one of the stars of last season season, dual Group 1 winner Coolangatta (Written Tycoon) following Wednesday’s announcement that the filly had run her last race after being privately purchased by Coolmore Stud in what is believed to be a record-breaking deal.
Having produced a sparkling maiden trial, Coolangatta won the Gimcrack Stakes (Gr 3, 1000m) on her first start as a juvenile, a performance which saw her installed as the Magic Millions 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m) favourite.
She won the $2 million race on the Gold Coast two starts later, having landed the B J McLachlan Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) in between, before rounding out her campaign with a third in the Golden Slipper Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m).
At three, Coolangatta completed the A J Moir Stakes (Gr 1, 1000m) and Black Caviar Lightning Stakes (Gr 1, 1000m) double either side of a spell, prompting a campaign aimed at the Royal Ascot meeting and the King’s Stand Stakes (Gr 1, 5f), in which she tired late after racing keenly to finish unplaced.
Maher reflected on the filly’s wonderful career yesterday, describing the daughter of Written Tycoon’s (Iglesia) feats on a racecourse as ‘rare’.
“I tried to think of another three-year-old that has beaten the older horses at weight-for-age twice, I can’t think of that many if any. Fillies like her are rare,” he said.
“She won the Gimcrack, the first two-year-old stakes race of the season in an unbelievable time and then obviously the Magic Millions, then placed in the Slipper. Then to do what she did as a three-year-old was amazing. She took the owners on an unbelievable ride for two years.
“To finish at Ascot was great, she didn’t get the result, but the owners had a great time and maybe that was a catalyst for the sale to Coolmore, because she was there under their nose, so it all fell into place. She may or may not have had more in front of her, we’ll never know, but she’d done enough anyway.”