I Am Me Continues March to Everest

Tara Madgwick - Saturday September 21

Yarraman Park’s champion sire I Am Invincible is renowned for his brilliant sprinting daughters and six year-old mare I Am Me has never raced better winning the $1million Group III ATC Concorde Stakes (1000m) first up from a spell and then adding the $1million ATC Yarraman Park The Shorts (1100m) to her tally at Randwick on Saturday.

I Am Me does enough to hold off Stefi Magnetica to win the G2 The Shorts - image Steve Hart

Trained by Ciaron Maher and ridden this time by James McDonald, I Am Me produced a very similar effort to her first up win stalking the pace and dashing quickly in the straight to take control before holding off the challengers.

She won by a long head over Group I winner Stefi Magnetic and Mazu with all three holding appeal for Everest slot holders.

“That's what James said before the race, just copy and paste, and that's exactly what he did," said Ciaron Maher’s Sydney stable foreman Johann Gerard-Dubord.

"To do it first-up, obviously is one thing, but to repeat it two weeks later like that is a good effort,

"Especially after a hard run like that, two weeks back-up, there's always a bit of a question mark, but she's come back better.

"She has beaten (many of) the same ones twice now, 1200 will only suit her. She is full of confidence now and those mares in form, it's hard to stop them."

James McDonald sees I Am Me as a genuine Everest contender.

"She always felt in control of the race and even a furlong from home, I felt like I was always going to win, even though they were so close," McDonald said.

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"She's just doing enough, enough, enough.

"She's won the first two lead-ups to the great race (Everest), so she's ticking a lot of boxes."

I Am Me was a $210,000 Inglis Premier purchase for dynamic Syndications.

A Dynamic Syndications colour bearer, I Am Me has been a slow burn horse for Ciaron Maher, nurtured quietly through the early stages of her career which started with a maiden win at Canberra and a Class 1 at Ballarat in early 2022.

She has improved with every year that has passed and now boasts the overall record of 11 wins and five placings from 23 starts with prizemoney topping $3.6million.

A $210,000 Inglis Premier purchase from the Segenhoe draft for Dynamic Syndications / Dean Watt Bloodstock, I Am Me was bred by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum and was raised and grazed as a foal at Coolmore. She is the first winner from Mefnooda, a metro winning half-sister by Medaglia D’Oro (USA) to Group III winning filly One Last Dance and daughter of Group IIII winner One World.

Mefnooda was bought by Cambridge Stud at the 2019 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale for $450,000 and produced a filly last spring by Too Darn Hot (GB) and was then covered by Satono Aladdin (Jpn).

With wins at her past two starts in million dollar races, I Am Me has helped propel her reigning champion sire I Am Invincible to the top of the Australian General Sires List by earnings.

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Race Result - Yarraman Park The Shorts Gr2 1100m

Randwick Track: Good(4) Time: 1:02.40
1
I Am Me
- 6m I Am Invincible (AUS) x Mefnooda (AUS) (Medaglia D'oro (USA))
Tnr: C Maher Rdr: J B Mc Donald 55
I Am Invincible
2
0.2
Stefi Magnetica
- 4m All Too Hard (AUS) x Mid Summer Music (AUS) (Oamaru Force (AUS))
Tnr: Bjorn Baker Rdr: Zac Lloyd 56
All Too Hard
3
0.8
Mazu
- 6g Maurice (JPN) x Chatelaine (AUS) (Flying Spur (AUS))
Tnr: Joseph Pride Rdr: J R Collett 56
4
1
Dragonstone
- 6g Mikki Isle (JPN) x Quick's The Word (AUS) (Shamardal (USA))
Tnr: Joseph Pride Rdr: Reece Jones 55
5
1.1
Mumbai Muse
- 4m Zoustar (AUS) x Mumbai Rock (AUS) (Fastnet Rock (AUS))
Tnr: Michael Freedman Rdr: Tommy Berry 54.5
6
1.6
Private Eye
- 7g Al Maher (AUS) x Confidential Queen (AUS) (Shamardal (USA))
Tnr: Joseph Pride Rdr: J Ford 57
7
2.8
Lady Of Camelot
- 3f Written Tycoon (AUS) x Miss Debutante (AUS) (Fastnet Rock (AUS))
Tnr: G Waterhouse & A Bott Rdr: Tim Clark 55
8
3.1
Our Kobison
- 5g Kobayashi (AUS) x Orne River (AUS) (Fastnet Rock (AUS))
Tnr: Angela Davies Rdr: Dylan Gibbons 55
9
4.5
Way To The Stars
- 6g Reward For Effort (AUS) x Writteninthestars (AUS) (Written Tycoon (AUS))
Tnr: Matthew Smith Rdr: Rachel King 55
10
5.4
Aft Cabin
- 5g Astern (AUS) x Shelters (AUS) (Lonhro (AUS))
Tnr: James Cummings Rdr: K Mc Evoy 57
11
5.8
Coal Crusher
- 7g Turffontein (AUS) x Media Academy (AUS) (Royal Academy (USA))
Tnr: Joseph Pride Rdr: Regan Bayliss 55
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