The temptation would be to keep a mare in foal to I Am Invincible wrapped in cotton wool however Sledmere Stud's Catriona and Royston Murphy had some unfinished business with the Exceed And Excel mare Invictus Salute.
Purchased privately off her breeders and previous owners Geoff and Mary Grimmish, Invictus Salute had placed in two of her last eight starts at stakes level. But the catalogue page received a significant update on Saturday when Invictus Salute captured the Listed Schweppes Starlight Stakes.
Ridden by the unstoppable Rachel King for trainer mark Newnham, Invictus Salute stayed on strongly to defeat the front-running Spaceboy (Deep Field) by a short-neck with Viridine (Poet's Voice) three-quarter of a length back in third.
"That was really satisfying," Newnham told AAP.
"A bit like Greysful (Glamour), a couple of mares I've had pretty much since I started training."
"To have them both win stakes races on the same day is very, very satisfying.
"That'll probably be her last start now.
"She's in foal to I Am Invincible, so we've added value to her and her offspring."
Passed in when failing to make her $600,000 reserve when offered by Kitchwin Hills at the 2017 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, Invictus Salute advances her record to six wins, five seconds and three thirds from 23 starts with earnings of $515,305.
Sledmre consigned the daughter of Exceed And Excel to the 2020 Inglis Chairman's Sale where she was passed in at $800,00.
A half-sister to Group II winner Splintex (Snitzel) and the stakes-placegetter Aquime (Sepoy), Invictus Salute is a daughter of the top-class racemare Acquired (O'Reilly).
A multiple Group placed winner of seven races, Acquired is a sister to the stakes-placed Procurement and a half-sister to the Group II Reisling Stakes winner Hips Don't Lie who is the dam of Listed winner and Group 1 Golden Slipper third Lake Geneva and Group III winner Ennis Hill.
Acquired has not had the best of luck in recent years.
She missed in 2017 and her 2018 Not A Single Doubt filly died after birth. But there was a bit of blue sky this year when Acquired foaled a colt by The Autumn Sun on October 12.
Invictus Salute becomes the 179th stakes-winner for Darley Stud's flagship stallion Exceed And Excel.
