Statue Captures Invincible Spirit

Friday saw the Irish National Stud unveil a life-sized granite statue of the farm's flagship stallion Invincible Spirit (Ire). The impressive piece took over a year and a half to be carved by sculptor Simon Carman, who began the commission with an 18-ton block of limestone. The statue was unveiled by Michael 'Daffer' Kelly, Invincible Spirit's regular handler along with Paul Croke, the stud's stallion manager. The 22-year-old Invincible Spirit has not only established himself as an elite stallion but his influence is now growing as a sire of sires thanks to the exploits of exciting young stallions like Kingman (GB) and I Am Invincible (Aus). His potential to be a breed shaper began to show through the stud career of his now 15-year-old Classic-winning son Lawman (Fr), while the coming years could see other top-class sons of Invincible Spirit such as Shalaa (Ire), Territories (Ire), Cable Bay (Ire), Profitable (Ire) and this year's G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas winner Magna Grecia (GB) exert their own influence on the sport.

Speaking at the launch, which took place in glorious sunshine, Irish National Stud Chief Executive Officer Cathal Beale said, “It really is a unique piece and like all great works it is not only beautiful but deeply informative and tactile. It was quite the engineering challenge to get the weight of the stone to sit and be supported by the spindly legs and huge credit has to go to Simon [Carman] for creating it. I also can't think of anyone more fitting than Paul and Daffer to unveil the statue. Paul is a graduate of the INS breeding course and Daffer has looked after Invincible Spirit since the horse arrived here and they are such an important part of the stud.”

Beale continued, “With 127 stakes winners worldwide and 18 Group 1 winners the legacy of Invincible Spirit to the Thoroughbred breed will last as long as racehorses run and he has had such an influence on so many peoples' careers. He has helped keep the show on the road for a lot of breeders and particularly ourselves here at the Irish National Stud and today we immortalize the achievements of this horse and look forward to several more years of covering. He has covered another excellent book of mares this year with 120 mares in foal and it is worth pointing out that his sire Green Desert continued to service mares until his 28th year, while Danzig, his grandsire was covering until he was 27. That gives us hope that at 22-years-of-age we have several more years to look forward to.”

The man responsible for this work of art, Simon Carman, added, “What I've realized as I've learned more about the Thoroughbred industry is that these horses don't just pop up out of the field like mushrooms. There is a massive industry behind it that supports the development of these animals and as I was carving this sculpture, the huge block of stone, to me came to represent that massive industry that has helped develop horses like Invincible Spirit. The amount of thinking and intellectual rigour that goes into breeding these horses is a massive foundation and from everyone involved, from breeders to trainers to owners to handlers, I really feel that the sculpture appears from the stone like the Thoroughbred appears from this massive industry. So I'd like to thank everyone who supported me while doing it. I've never done a sculpture on that scale before but thankfully the team at the Irish National Stud believed in me and I am so grateful for the opportunity to have worked on it.”

Those in attendance at the unveiling also had the opportunity to get a sneak preview of a new interactive centre being developed that will allow visitors to the INS to be taken on a journey that explores the life-cycle of a Thoroughbred, and to experience through technology various aspects of the racing and bloodstock industry. The 7,000 square foot building is still a work in progress but is scheduled to be open for business next March and among the many novel features being rolled out, visitors can look forward to buying their own yearling at a simulated Goffs sale, experiencing the unique thrill of riding in a simulated race and learning so many insights from the art of training, breeding and the general behind the scenes aspect of the broader Thoroughbred industry. While mainly being developed as a fun and educational experience for those new to the sport, after a guided tour by Rob Molenaar and a presentation from his colleague Heather Dowling of design team DMW Creative, this correspondent will definitely be booking tickets for the grand opening next spring.