Dream, Freedman seize Immortal opportunity

It was a sense of opportunism that saw I Am Immortal (I Am Invincible) end up with Anthony Freedman and Dream Thoroughbreds and both are hoping that they can be rewarded for their quick thinking when the speedy colt makes his debut in Saturday's Listed Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Preview at Caulfield.

Freedman made headlines at last year's Australian Easter Yearling Sale when he went to $2.3 million for a Fastnet Rock full-brother to his Group 1 winner Shoals, but it was his work at the other end of the market which has always impressed Dream Thoroughbreds' David Azzopardi.

"Anthony has a good eye for value with yearlings," Azzopardi said. "He paid big money for that Fastnet Rock, but we have been heavily involved with him and he's always been really good at finding good horses in the right price range."

"This horse also went through the Sydney Easter Sale. The I Am Invincibles were making $1m at those sales and this horse was passed in."

"I was outside the stables and I saw that he was passed in for $200,000 and he was out of a Group 2-winning mare and I went in to buy the horse and Anthony was in there two minutes beforehand and had already bought him."

"I asked him if he had any owners, and he said, 'no', and we said, 'let’s do it together'. We joined forces and went 50-50 on the horse and Yarraman Park, who bred the horse, stayed in for 30 per cent."

It was his faith in Freedman, as well as the trust in the nursery that is Yarraman Park, that gave Azzopardi the confidence to stretch into a price range which is not normally in Dream Thoroughbreds' wheelhouse.

Of the 34 I Am Invincibles sold at the sale, only three were cheaper. Azzopardi knew it was an opportunity that was too good to pass up.

"I really trust Anthony's eye and I do have a good relationship with Yarraman Park, with Arthur and Harry (Mitchell). It was just a really good mix that horse, with Anthony and us and Yarraman," he said.

"I Am Invincible is one of the hottest sires in Australia, so it’s not hard to syndicate his progeny especially at that price. You just don’t get colts at that price."

Continuing the partnership

Freedman is one of five trainers that Dream Thoroughbreds uses, but it is that partnership that has been by far the most successful since the syndication business was started by a few school friends back in 2011.

Mr Sneaky (High Chaparral {Ire}) has been their headline horse. Bought for $120,000 at the 2015 Melbourne Premier Sale, he has been placed at Group 1 level and has won nearly $400,000 in prize-money.

Horses like Mr Sneaky are worth their weight in gold for syndicators who are looking to sell the dream of horse ownership. A few of his owners are also involved with I Am Immortal, who Azzopardi said always loomed as a 2-year-old type.

A big strong colt

"He's a very big strong colt. He's always physically been mature. Ever since he's been a yearling that is what has stuck out about him," Azzopardi said.

"Obviously the worry about yearlings that are big and strong is that they get too big and they take a bit of time to come up, but this colt is very professional and pretty bombproof in his work. He's never had a sore day in his life."

What was also apparent was that he was quick. When Azzopardi bought into him, one of the things that stuck in his mind was his dam Meliora's (Ad Valorem {USA}) dashing all-the-way win in the G2 Angus Armanasco S. at Caulfield. Her yearling Hinchinbrook filly was purchased by Boomer Bloodstock at the recent Magic Millions Yearling Sale for $600,000.

Watch: Meliora winning the G2 Angus Armanesco S.

"She was a real fast, leading type that was trained by Peter Moody. This colt seems to be very, very similar in that he has followed his mum's traits and with the I Am Invincible blood, he's got speed to burn," he said.

"The first time he trialed up at Balnarring, he'd only really had the one track gallop and he trialed so well. We took him to Pakenham for the 2-year-old trials, because sometimes a jumpout can be a little misleading around a tight track like Balnarring. Again he was impressive."

Speed and more speed

"We are very confident that over the 1000m (on Saturday), he will be the leader and be very hard to run down. The question mark maybe at this stage is whether he can sustain that over the 1200m of the Blue Diamond S., when there is pressure on," Azzopardi said.

"At this stage, he gives us no doubt that he's capable of measuring up to that grade."

The nature of these late summer 2-year-old races often means that speed rules and there will be plenty of others in the capacity field willing to test themselves out at the front. But Azzopardi said regardless of the opposition the plan is simple, get to the front and keep going.

"We are not going to try and allow him to do anything else apart from what he does best, which is lead races," he said.

Point of difference

It’s been a good 18 months for syndicators in Australia with the likes of dual Everest champion Redzel (Snitzel), Victoria Derby winner Extra Brut (Domesday) and G1 VRC Oaks winner Aristia (Lonhro) being owned by large groups of owners.

Azzopardi said that Dream Thoroughbreds have enjoyed watching that success, but they are aware that in a competitive market it is important to have a point of difference. He feels that the racing and social experience is crucial to keeping owners connected.

"I think where we tend to aim at is we encourage the partners and wives of the investors to get involved," he said.

"We also work on the social aspect of it. A lot of our owners are couples, either younger couples with no children or older couples that their children have grown up and they are looking for a social outlet."

"We do particularly look at social events with our ownership base and focus on making it a family affair and establishing friendships with our owners."

He said it was important to ensure the business remained small enough to ensure those connections are sustained, but that there was also a focus on quality horses.

"We're not the biggest. We only hold 18-20 horses in our stable. But we do try to pick quality and good value that we will believe will at least race at city level," he said.

"Whether they can reach stakes level, is obviously up to the horse but we are aiming for that city class horse."

"If we work out by the end of their 3-year-old year that they won’t win a city class race, we will move them on."

The national focus

The one area Dream Thoroughbreds has expanded in recent times is in its geographic footprint. In Brisbane it utilises Tony Gollan, while Will Clarken is the man in Adelaide. It uses Freedman, as well as Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, and Natalie Young and Trent Busuttin for its Victorian home base.

Maher and Eustace's recent stable expansion into Sydney will see Dream Thoroughbreds move into that market for the first time, syndicating a Deep Field colt bought at the recent Magic Millions sale on the Gold Coast.

Azzopardi said the national focus was about creating opportunities for the owners as well as for horses.

One of their horses, Columbia (Denman), is a good example of the ability to transfer horses between stables having moved to Clarken's in September.

"Colombia was in a bit of no man's land in Victoria. Since we popped him over to Adelaide to Will, he won three out of five," he said.

A sneaky Group 1?

I Am Immortal may be the next star for Dream Thoroughbreds, but the current title of favourite still belongs to Mr Sneaky, who Azzopardi revealed has Group 1 goals this autumn.

"Mr Sneaky is back in work. He had a long year last year. He did the autumn, went to Brisbane and came back in the spring. He wasn't successful, but he ran a lot of good races," he said.

"So we gave him a bit of extra time off and we are going to kick him off in March and maybe head towards the G1 Goodwood in May," he said.

"We will keep him on a sprinting campaign in the autumn and target him at these fast-run 1200m races."