Given plenty of time to find her feet by Hugh Bowman, I Am Invincible’s strapping daughter Muntaseera came from last to round up her four rivals with a minimum of fuss in Saturday’s Sky Racing Active Handicap (1100m) at Rosehill Gardens and head to her summer hibernation as a major player in the rich two-year-old races in the autumn.
Runner-up in the Group III Ottawa Stakes at Flemington on Melbourne Cup Day, the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained filly was under little more than a hand ride in the closing stages to defeat Godolphin’s Exceed And Excel colt Chilliwack by three and a half lengths with the Lee Curtis-trained Time For War filly Time For Peace a length and a quarter back in third.
Shortly after Muntaseera’s dominant performance, the Maher – Eustice stable took the wraps off another 2yo daughter of I Am Invincible at Morphettville.
The well-named Unstoppabelle proved a length and three-quarters too good for the $400,000 Medaglia d’Oro (USA) colt Stenmark and the favoured Exceed And Excel filly Quietly Discreet over 1050 metres.
Annabel Neasham, who runs the Sydney stable for Maher and Eustace said she thought Muntaseera was in trouble before the turn.
It didn’t look like she was travelling all that well before the turn but she gave a beautiful kick,” Neasham said.
“She’s a filly who we’ve always had a big opinion of and I’m grateful for (owner-breeder) Sheikh Khalifa and (his racing manager) Tim Stakemire. It’s the first year we have trained for them and we've got a couple of really smart fillies for them now heading into the autumn.
“You have to aim her for the top races, she’s already stakes-placed. We’ll probably give her a little freshen-up and we will probably be thinking Blue Diamond and Golden Slipper.”
Muntaseera is a daughter of the Redoute’s Choice mare Moosirra who is a sister to the South African Group 1 winner Musir.
Moosirra foaled a filly by Pride Of Dubai in September.
Unstoppabelle was a $320,000 purchase by Ciaron Maher Bloodstock out of the Rosemont Stud draft at the 2019 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
She is the first foal of the winning Darci Brahma mare Darcibelle who is a half-sister to Group II VRC Sires’ Produce Stakes winner Twilight Royale (Testa Rossa) who also captured the rich Inglis Nursery (RL) and Inglis Premier (RL).
Purchased by Rosemont for $150,000 at the 2017 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale, Darcibelle has a yearling filly by All Too Hard and a filly foal by Hellbent.
