Invincible Army Dominant At York

[Wandering Eyes]

Smart at two and three without hitting the heights, Saeed Manana’s Invincible Army (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) looks ready to take on all-comers in the ones that matter after an authoritative win in Wednesday’s G2 Duke of York Clipper Logistics S. at York. Having looked at least as good as ever when convincing with a comeback success in the Listed Cammidge Trophy at Doncaster on Mar. 30, the homebred son of the G1 Falmouth S. heroine Rajeem (GB) (Diktat {GB}) went up a notch to record a 2 1/4-length verdict over Major Jumbo (GB) (Zebedee {GB}). Always travelling easily sitting back off the strong pace, the bay was sent to the fore with 1 1/2 furlongs to race and opened up with relish on ground that connections once feared for him.

“He’s like a four-mile chaser in attitude, so switched off and was like a sheep at the start so his mind is 100% now,” rider P J McDonald said. “If we can keep him in that kind of form for the busy months of the summer we’ll have a lot of fun with him. He’s really back to where he should be. When I gave him a squeeze he was away and gone–he was just coasting home.”

Successful in the G3 Sirenia S. at two, Invincible Army was placed in the G2 Gimcrack S. over this track and trip and Newbury’s G2 Mill Reef S. before returning to annexe the G3 Pavilion S. at Ascot last May. A nose second to Sands of Mali (Fr) (Panis) in the G2 Sandy Lane S. at Haydock later that month, he put in an unexpected moderate effort when ninth in Royal Ascot’s G1 Comonwealth Cup in June and repeated that flop when in the same position in Newbury’s G3 Hackwood S. in July.

“He’s really produced there–that’s probably his best performance,” trainer James Tate said. “He is so much more professional this year and we half-expected this. There were no chinks in him today and he’s now got a champion sprinter’s attitude. He got beaten at Ascot last year, so I couldn’t say for sure he’ll go there [for the June 22 G1 Diamond Jubilee S.].”

Pedigree Notes

Invincible Army is the best of the five foals of racing age produced by Rajeem, whose aforementioned Falmouth victory came at 50-1 for the irrepressible Clive Brittain who had a habit of tilting at windmills with occasional dramatic results. His success adds to the current golden spell of Invincible Spirit, whose son Kingman (GB) had the winner of the card’s other feature, the Musidora. The sire is also responsible for a colt foal, with the dam having produced the 3-year-old gelded maiden Self Rule (Ire) (Slade Power {Ire}) and a 2-year-old colt by Australia (GB) in the interim. Rajeem, who is out of a full-sister to the G1 Prix Morny winner Hoh Magic (GB) (Cadeaux Genereux {GB}), is a half to the unraced dam of the recent G3 Fred Darling S. winner Dandhu (GB) (Dandy Man {Ire}).

Wednesday, York, Britain
DUKE OF YORK CLIPPER LOGISTICS S.-G2, £125,000, York, 5-15, 3yo/up, 6fT, 1:09.89, g/f.
1–INVINCIBLE ARMY (IRE), 134, c, 4, by Invincible Spirit (Ire)
1st Dam: Rajeem (GB) (G1SW-Eng, $257,333),
by Diktat (GB)
2nd Dam: Magic Sister (GB), by Cadeaux Genereux (GB)
3rd Dam: Gunner’s Belle (GB), by Gunner B (GB)
(95,000gns Ylg ’16 TATOCT; 290,000gns RNA 2yo ’17 TATBRE).
O-Saeed Manana; B-Rabbah Bloodstock Ltd (IRE); T-James
Tate; J-P J McDonald. £70,888. Lifetime Record: 13-5-5-0,
$359,142. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Werk Nick Rating: A++.
2–Major Jumbo (GB), 134, g, 5, Zebedee (GB)–Gone Sailing
(GB), by Mizzen Mast. (17,000gns Wlg ’14 TATFOA; £37,000
Ylg ’15 DNSIL). O-T A Rahman; B-D R Botterill (GB); T-Kevin
Ryan. £26,875.
3–Yafta (GB), 134, c, 4, Dark Angel (Ire)–Swiss Dream (GB), by
Oasis Dream (GB). (£280,000 Ylg ’16 GOUKPR). O-Sheikh
Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum; B-Lordship Stud (GB);
T-Richard Hannon. £13,450.
Margins: 2 1/4, 3/4, HF. Odds: 3.50, 8.00, 3.50.
Also Ran: Limato (Ire), Hey Jonesy (Ire), El Astronaute (Ire), Brando (GB), George Bowen (Ire), Ornate (GB), Projection (GB). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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