Champion sire I Am Invincible produced a couple of interesting new three year-old winners at Warwick Farm on Monday in potential packed La Roja and $2.5million colt Railway Man.
Trained by Peter Snowden, La Roja had just one start at two when thrown into the deep end to finish seventh beaten two lengths in the Listed ATC Lonhro Plate behind Castanya and was turned out afterwards.
Connections elected to let the talented filly develop in the paddock over the spring and with two trials under her belt, La Roja was well prepared for a first up tilt in the 1100m maiden with Kerrin McEvoy in the saddle.
She settled off the pace and surged hard late to win by three-quarters of a length.
“She has always shown us good ability, but really needed that extra time to mature and furnish,” said Peter Snowden, who plans to take La Roja back towards Black Type races this year.
“She’s almost the finished product now, but we’ll take it one step at a time.”
A $900,000 Inglis Easter purchase from Newgate Farm for Snowden Racing / William Johnson Bloodstock / Cunningham Thoroughbreds / Clarke Bloodstock, La Roja is a half-sister to Group III placed Latizia.
Bred by SF Bloodstock, she is the third winner from three foals to race from imported US stakes-winner Spanish Pipedream (USA), who died last year and was a daughter of influential sire Scat Daddy.
Making it a double for I Am Invincible was the Ciaron Maher trained colt Railway Man, who was having his sixth race start in the 1400m $100,000 super maiden and was tenacious to the line winning by a long neck for Jason Collett.
Railway Man was a $2.5million Magic Millions purchase for his trainer from the Coolmore draft and runs for Coolmore and partners. He is the first foal of Group I MRC Oakleigh Plate winner Booker, who was bought by Tom Magnier for $1.6million at the 2020 Inglis Chairman’s Sale and her second foal, a filly by I Am Invincible, sold for $3million at the 2024 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale to Resolute Racing.
Her third foal is a filly by Home Affairs that was sold at Magic Millions this year for $300,000 to David Ellis (BAFNZ)/Te Akau Racing and she is now in foal to Justify after being sent to Kentucky last year to be covered to Southern Hemisphere time to the Triple Crown winning sire.
