Emirates Park have purchased two Golden Slipper winning fillies from Inglis Easter in years past in Mossfun and Estijaab, who cost $1.7million, and they unleashed on Monday to pay $1.55million for the I Am Invincible filly from Invictus Salute.
The star filly was bred and offered for sale by Sledmere Stud and knocked down to Emirates Park / Michael Freedman Racing / Andrew Williams Bloodstock.
She is the third foal of stakes-winning Exceed and Excel mare Invictus Salute, a half-sister to Group II winner Splintex from the family of Group I winner Ozzmosis and brilliant Group winning filly Learning to Fly, whose full sister sold for $1.3million earlier today (read about her here).
Sledmere Stud is owned and operated by Treen and Royston Murphy, who were thrilled to have bred and sold their first million dollar yearling.
“To sell a million dollar horse that is actually our own and a home-bred, it's just so overwhelming.. It's great. It's really good. We're just so excited,” said Treen Murphy.
“It's a big team of people that go into it at home. It's such a long process, as you know, so to get the result in the ring is just very humbling.
“That's our first one (million dollar yearling) for Roy and I and the team. So now I know what it feels like and hopefully there's many more to come.”
“She had the most amazing attitude. She had a walk like a panther, she'd just get up and do a parade every time, and was a spectacle to look at, really. She was just fabulous, beautiful.”
Emirates Park have enjoyed recent success with Group I winning homebred fillies Marhoona and Manaal, who are both trained by Michael Freedman and he will be taking charge of this filly too.
“It's easy to say, but from the day we got here she was a lovely filly and every day we've looked at her she just hasn't put a foot wrong, so o we thought we bought very well there,” said Byran Carlson of Emirates Park.
“She's very typical to a lot of the I Am Invincible’s that we’ve had at the farm and she’s a great mover.
“Michael (Freedman) will train her and a couple of his clients will come in as well. We’ve had great success with Marhoona and Manaal, so let's continue with it and hopefully this filly can do that too.”
Invictus Salute missed in 2024 and was covered by Ole Kirk last spring.
