Invincible Spirit, the sire of 22 individual Group 1 winners worldwide, has been retired from covering duties.

The 27-year-old son of Green Desert has sired 144 blacktype winners to date and been a stalwart at the Irish National Stud, having stood every season there since 2003.

Victorious in the Group 1 Haydock Sprint Cup, Invincible Spirit was introduced at a fee of €10,000. He quickly demonstrated his ability to produce fast and durable racehorses, landing the freshman sires' title in 2006, earning him a fee hike to €35,000 for the 2007 breeding season.

His first classic winner duly followed with Lawman winning the Group 1 French Derby, cementing his position among Europe’s elite stallions.

Group 1 winners Fleeting Spirit, Mayson and six-time Group 1 winner Moonlight Cloud soon followed but it was Kingman who pushed him into the upper echelons of the stallion ranks. His win in the Irish 2000 Guineas marked a first British/Irish classic winner for Invincible Spirit as a sire and his fee increased to €100,000 for the 2015 breeding season.

Following four consecutive years of commanding a stud fee of €120,000 and a first British classic success with his son Magna Grecia winning the English 2000 Guineas, he has stood the last two breeding seasons at a private fee.

Invincible Spirit’s claim as a sire of sires is demonstrated through the success of his son Kingman in the northern hemisphere and champion Australian sire I Am Invincible in the southern hemisphere.

In later years he has become a broodmare sire of note with his daughters producing top class racehorses including Breeder’s Cup winner Victoria Road, classic winner Notable Speech, as well as Group 1 winners and performers Desert Encounter and Flotus.

Irish National Stud chief executive Cathal Beale said: "It has been a great privilege for all of us at Tully to have been here during the reign of Invincible Spirit. He has been, unquestionably, the greatest stallion to have ever stood at the Irish National Stud.

"We are delighted to be able to retire him now on his own terms. He will live out his days being looked after by the same people, being turned out every day to the same paddock and being given the same exceptional care. He retires as a living legend.”