Nicks That Click – Two Champion Sires

Two stakes-winners last Saturday highlight a nick that is enjoying growing success and is not a hard one for breeders to explore, even for those operating on a budget.

The nick involves reigning champion sire I Am Invincible and mares carrying the blood of former champion sire Encosta de Lago.

The Group III Hawkesbury Guineas (1400m) was won in spectacular style by exciting colt Hawaii Five Oh, who is a full brother to ill-fated sprinter Libertini, a multiple Group II winner with multiple G1 placings.

While Libertini died prematurely before she could nail a G1, Hawaii Five Oh will get every opportunity to go one better than his famous sister in the care of Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott.

He is the 13^th stakes-winner by I Am Invincible from a mare either by Encosta de Lago or carrying his blood further back.

Priced at $302,500 this spring, I Am Invincible is beyond the reach of most breeders, but his young sire son Overshare is not and he’s the sire of the next stakes-winner we’ll highlight in Lady Laguna.

Multiple Group placed at two, Lady Laguna won the Listed BRC Mick Dittman Plate (1200m) at Doomben and has won over $500,000 in prizemoney.

She is the first stakes-winner for Widden Stud based Overshare, whose fee has been set at $8,800, and like Hawaii Five Oh is from a daughter of Encosta de Lago.

I am Invincible and/or his sire sons appear in the pedigrees of 16 stakes-winners from mares with Encosta blood from 111 runners with the strike rate of 14.4% SW to runner.

The star performers for the nick are five time Group I winning mare Imperatriz and Group I SAJC Goodwood Handicap winner Lombardo as well as this season’s Golden Slipper place-getter King’s Gambit.

Let’s compare I Am Invincible (and sire sons) in the same way with mares carrying the blood of several other champion sires that are now influential broodmare sires.