Noel Leckie, a driving force behind the emergence of the Scone Race Club as one of the most upmarket country racing complexes seen in Australia who sadly passed away at only 64 in January 2017, gained posthumous rewards as a breeder and owner when the 7yo I Am Invincible gelding Voodoo Lad came with a big finish to claim the $1 million Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes over 1200m at Perth’s Ascot racecourse on Saturday December 1.
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The second successive winner of the Winterbotom for his sire, Voodoo Lad is a representative of the first crop of I Am Invincible, the awesome source of goodness located at the Yarraman Park Stud at Scone conducted by Arthur Mitchell, another Scone race club leader, and his brother Harry. Voodoo Lad has now been successful13 races, seven in stakes, and earned just under $2million.
Although the Winterbottom was his first group 1 win he had earlier shown he was up to this level with seconds in Melbourne in the Newmarket and Rupert Clarke.
Foaled and reared on Yarraman Park for Leckie and sold for $36,000 at the Scone Yearling Sale, Voodoo Lad races out of the Darren Weir stables for a syndicate headed by the powerhouse Segenhoe Valley breeding farm Segenhoe Thoroughbreds. The Leckie estate is a shareholder.
A grandson of a sister to the great Widden Valley produced sprinter Schillachi (16 wins, 8 Group1), Voodoo Lad is the seventh Group1 winner and sixth million dollar earner for the 14-year-old I Am Invincible, one who is one of the most outstanding sires to emerge this century. He is currently way out in front as the most successful sire of black type performers for 2018-19, since August1 wracking up 17 stakes winners,16 of them in Australia, and six others stakes placed. Besides black type, he leads clearly by winners and wins and heads the juvenile statistics by winners, stakes winners and earnings.
On December 1 his runners besides Voodoo Lad included Invincible Star, a 4yo mare who took out the Starlight Stakes at Rosehill Gardens, and Most Important and Victorem, second and third in the George Moore Stakes at Doomben. This Group 3 event was won by I’m A Rippa, a million dollar earner by the good Mossman sprinter Love Conquers All.
Besides his Saturday stars, I am Invincible struck again in a feature race on Sunday with Strasbourg, a colt bred at Yarraman Park using Danish Spy, a good performer up to 2000m by Dane Shadow, made an impressive debut in winning the Max Lees Classic over 900m at Newcastle.
In the Snowden stables for a syndicate embracing the China Horse Club, Henry Field Bloodstock, Newgate S F, Horse Ventures (Mgr M B Sandblom), G I G Racing & Breeding (Mrs T L Vogel and American Winstar Farm, Strasbourg was purchased for $750,000 at Easter. He has a brother in the catalogue for the Magic Millions sale in January.
