Te Akau's Love For Vinnie Continues
15 January, 2025

TDN Kristen Manning & Dane McLeod reports:
As the owners of the mighty mare Imperatriz (I Am Invincible) as well as the G1 Manawatu Sires Produce S. winner Move To Strike (I Am Invincible), Te Akau Racing’s David Ellis is obviously one of I Am Invincible’s greatest fans.
Secured at the 2020 Magic Millions for $360,000 before embarking on a stellar career that saw her win 10 races at the elite level, Imperatriz amassed in excess of $6.9 million in stakes before being sold at last year’s Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale for a record-breaking $6.6 million.
Ellis has continued to purchase the progeny of I Am Invincible, including a NZ$1.65 million New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run colt last spring; the highest price achieved during that sale’s history.
The spending spree on the breed has continued at the Magic Millions with a filly (Lot 74 pictured below) and a colt (Lot 115) secured on Tuesday and another filly (Lot 306) on Wednesday.
Bought for $510,000 from the draft of Segenhoe Stud on behalf of Fairway Thoroughbreds, Lot 74 is out of the Group 2-placed Randwick winner Villa Carlotta (Street Cry {Ire}) from the prolific Dancing Show (USA) (Nijinsky {Can}) family.
Lot 115 was a $600,000 purchase sold by Yarraman Park Stud. His dam Zimaretto (Anabaa {USA}) is already dam of an I Am Invincible stakes winner; the dual Group 3 winner California Zimbol; also producing the Listed winners From Within (Not A Single Doubt) and Cruden Bay (Not A Single Doubt).

Ellis was back in action early on day 2 with Lot 296 out of the stakes-placed, multiple city winner Danish Spy (Dane Shadow) bought for $375,000 from Yarraman. She is a full sister to Rosemont Stud’s G2 BRC Sires Produce S.-winning young stallion Strasbourg.
Ellis has developed a keen eye for the I Am Invincible breed, noting that “it is pretty obvious which ones are going to run at two and which ones are going to need a little bit more time.”
Ellis attributes the success of the two-time Australian Champion Sire not only to the horse’s ability to sire outstanding types who can run, but also to how his career has been handled.
“You would not get a better stud than Yarraman,” he said. “The horse has been beautifully managed, promoted and mated.”
Ellis said that whilst the progeny of I Am Invincible “come in all shapes and sizes,” they do have athleticism and great attitudes in common.
“All of ours have had great brains, they are easy to break in, easy to train. And they all have that great strength and movement.”
Ellis enjoyed dropping into Yarraman a couple of months ago, pleased to see I Am Invincible in great shape at the age of 20.
“He looks how you’d expect the best stallion in Australia to look,” he said. “He is in great hands and he looks absolutely amazing.”
“He (I Am Invincible) looks how you’d expect the best stallion in Australia to look. He is in great hands and he looks absolutely amazing.” - David Ellis
Shares in our Vinnie purchases are available here: https://teakauracing.com/yearlings-shares