Aquis Farm and Phoenix Thoroughbreds have had a lot of success with their two year-olds this season with talented I Am Invincible colt Holyfield adding to their list of feature winners when taking out the Group III ATC The Schweppervescence (1400m) at Rosehill on Saturday.
Trained by Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, Holyfield won his first two starts at Newcastle and then Sandown before a luckless unplaced run in the Group II VRC Sires Produce Stakes.
He rebounded from that effort to race on the pace for Tom Marquand and was very strong to the line in winning by three-quarters of a length over Pierro colt Untamed, taking his overall record to three wins from four starts with prizemoney in excess of $130,000.
Stable representative Annabel Neasham confirmed Holyfield will now progress towards the Group I ATC Champagne Stakes (1600m) next month.
“He kicked for home and kept finding the line,” said Neasham.
“We knew he’d find the seven furlongs as he won over that trip second up. Massive congratulations to Phoenix and Aquis, the same partnership that race Farnan and Prague, they’ve had a lot of success and we hope it continues.”
An $800,000 Magic Millions purchase from the Segenhoe draft for Phoenix Thoroughbreds and Aquis, Holyfield came out of the same draft as two other Group winning juvenile colts this season in Barbaric and King’s Legacy.
Segenhoe will be selling at Inglis Easter and you can see their draft here.
Bred by Segenhoe, Holyfield is the is best of three winners from Group I VRC Myer Classic winner Hurtle Myrtle and comes from the family of Golden Slipper winner Star Watch.
A top class daughter of Dane Shadow, Hurtle Myrtle was bought by Segenhoe for $1million at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale back in 2012 and has been a terrific producer delivering a foal in all bar one of her years at stud since then. She has a weanling filly by Not a Single Doubt and was covered last spring by Deep Field.
Holyfield is the 55th stakes-winner for Yarraman Park’s champion sire I Am Invincible and is his 11th stakes-winner this season.
