EXCITEMENT BUILDS FOR NEW BOY I AM IMMORTAL

Long-time horse breeder Adam Sangster knows all about the thrill of being trackside, but says something that never loses any excitement is the arrival of a new stallion.

Sangster, the principal of Swettenham Stud at Nagambie, readily admits that he is genuinely excited with the arrival of I Am Immortal, a son of I Am Invincible.

The new kid on the block, a Listed and Group 3 winner, will be four years-old when he begins duties at Swettenham Stud this season, alongside the likes of shuttle stallions Toronado and Highland Reel.

I Am Immortal

I Am Immortal is the only son of I Am Invincible to win two stakes races as a two year-old, the Blue Diamond Preview (1000m) for colts and geldings and the Blue Diamond Prelude (1100m).

Retired from the track earlier this year, he is quickly filling his book of mares for the first season which has been capped at 120.

Sangster said I Am Immortal’s sizzling performance in the Blue Diamond Preview when Microphone finished a length behind him in second, was an example of his sheer speed. He stopped the clock at 57.37 seconds in the 1000m scamper.

It was a quicker time than what both Sepoy and Hanseatic recorded when they won their editions of the preview.

“We are proud that I Am Immortal is the only dual stakes winning I Am Invincible colt in Australia,” Sangster said.

Sangster said it was important to remember that Swettenham Stud and its staff were there to serve the breeding industry and to provide that service at the highest possible level.

“We want to make sure the progeny of I Am Immortal, and all our stallions for that matter, get to the sales where we are doing everything possible to sale your horse for the best result,” Sangster said.

“And it’s important to know that we are not there to sell our own horses, but the number one priority is we are there to sell horses for the breeders who have put their mares to our stallions.

“We don’t want to draw comparisons with stallion A and stallion B but when it comes to sale time, and that’s the most important time, we want our breeders and clients to get a result and we will be working our hardest to make that happen.”

Sangster said that whether it was weanlings or yearlings, Swettenham Stud would inspect them all and make sure perspective buyers also inspected those horses at the sales.

He said everything possible would be done to make sure horses were sold for clients who had supported the Swettenham stallions.

“And the whole point of us moving forward and not having yearling drafts is to free up myself, along with sales and nominations manager, Sam Matthews and operations manager, Jason Robinson,” Sangster said.

“It will free up our whole team to go out and inspect the progeny of our stallions so that we can try to find buyers for the breeders who have supported us.

“It’s something we offer that no one else can and I believe it’s something breeders should be looking at when they are considering the benefits of a particular stallion or stud.”

​I Am Immortal - Blue Diamond Prelude G3

Sangster said that as a syndicated horse, trainer Anthony Freedman would be interested in I Am Immortal’s progeny, along with many others, including Dream Thoroughbreds and Yarraman Park which also raced the colt with a big ownership group.

He said there are 40 shares in I Am Immortal and a lot of people have a vested interest in him as both breeders and buyers.

Sangster said there was often talk about how good some horses look and admits it’s often a subjective argument, but says he’ll leave it up to people to make up their own mind with I Am Immortal.

“And I tell you, they won’t be disappointed,” he said.

“We are more than happy to have anyone up at the stud to inspect all of our stallions.”

Sangster said they wanted all the breeders to be given the strongest opportunity to sell progeny from the stud’s stallions.

“And that’s where we come in,” he said.

I Am Immoral already has 100 mares booked for this season.

2020 SWETTENHAM STUD FEES

TORONADO $25,000 +GST ($27,500 incl GST)

PUISSANCE DE LUNE $18,000 +GST ($19,800 incl GST)

AKEED MOFEED $15,000 +GST ($16,500 incl GST)

HIGHLAND REEL $15,000 +GST ($16,500 incl GST)

I AM IMMORTAL $12,500 +GST ($13,750 incl GST)*new in 2020

TRUST IN A GUST $6,000 +GST ($6,600 incl GST)