The world wants Imperatriz but does Australasia\u2019s new sprint queen want the world? That\u2019s the multimillion-dollar question facing her owners after the New Zealand mare claimed the final leg of Melbourne\u2019s three major spring sprints.<\/p>\n
Te Akau Racing were rewarded for bypassing the riches on offer in the Everest when Imperatriz made it four from four this campaign with victory in the group 1 $3 million Champions Sprint over 1200 metres.<\/p>\n
Connections had knocked back the chance for a slice of the $13 million first prize in Sydney\u2019s slot race, but her stud value has been enhanced by three group 1 victories while her spring earnings of $3.65 million is more than adequate recompense for staying in Melbourne.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Imperatriz ridden by Opie Bosson wins the Darley Champions Sprint.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Racing Photos \/ Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n Trainer Mark Walker and Te Akau Racing have another major call to make over the summer whether to give their superstar galloper the opportunity to emulate the great Black Caviar by sending her to Royal Ascot to take on the world\u2019s best sprinters in either the Kings Stand Stakes (1000 metres) and\/or the Platinum Jubilee Stakes (1200m).<\/p>\n Royal Ascot are making no secret of their desire to have Imperatriz race over their famous five-day carnival.<\/p>\n \u201cShe goes straight to the top of the list,\u201d Ascot\u2019s director of racing and public affairs Nick Smith said.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s got the right profile, she\u2019s got great consistency, she looks the type who can continue the tradition of Australian horses. This one\u2019s particularly interesting because she\u2019s a New Zealand horse and we\u2019ve never had a New Zealand winner.\u201d<\/p>\n All of Australia stayed up to watch Black Caviar famously win the King\u2019s Stand in 2012, though the 1200 metres Platinum Jubilee seems better suited for Imperatriz, who has now won seven of nine at that distance. Takeover Target, Choisir and Nature Strip are among the list of Australasian sprint stars who have won at Royal Ascot.<\/p>\n The $1.92 million available in the Platinum Jubilee is modest compared to some of the purses on offer in autumn in Australia, but Ascot offers prestige and tradition, plus international profile for her breeding future.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you are strictly racing for prizemoney you\u2019re probably thinking how am I going to get my horse to the Everest and do nothing to interfere with that,\u201d Smith said. \u201cOther owners consistently want to bring their horses, do something new, have pictures of their horse winning in a different country.\u201d<\/p>\n Walker said he and connections would wait a few weeks before discussing Imperatriz\u2019s 2024 program but said a trip to the UK would be considered.<\/p>\n Sitting outside the leader Front Page, Imperatriz had the race won shortly after entering the course proper, winning by half a length from Buenos Noches with In Secret a further three-quarters away in third.<\/p>\n In Secret had been beaten by a smaller margin when third in the Everest, but Walker is adamant they had made a good call by not running in the Everest.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was more about wanting her to get used to the surroundings at Cranbourne and also we do think she\u2019s a little better left-handed,\u201d Walker said. \u201cIt is hard to argue with her right-handed record and I think we did the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Damien Ractliffe<\/em><\/p>\n Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.<\/p>\n Punters were left gobsmacked when Pride Of Jenni won her second group 1 in as many weekends, leading from start to finish to win the Champions Mile, in the same fashion she won the Empire Rose seven days earlier.<\/p>\n Jockey Declan Bates had won just one group 1 race heading into this year\u2019s carnival, back in the 2019 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes on Begood Toya Mother.<\/p>\n Do it again: Pride Of Jenni passes the finishing post.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Racing Photos \/ Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n But he pulled off his second and third group 1 wins with bold front-running rides, on Saturday, opening up a four-length break on Alligator Blood heading into the straight, and he was never challenged.<\/p>\n \u201cHe said, \u2018I suppose we\u2019ll adopt the same tactics\u2019 and I said, \u2018I suppose you will\u2019,\u201d co-trainer Ciaron Maher said of Declan Bates.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is so good to watch a horse race like that.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Brightside, Alligator Blood and Fangirl all ran second to fourth, having dropped back in distance after competing in the Cox Plate a fortnight ago.<\/p>\n Bates, who didn\u2019t even leave the fence on the $13 outsider, stood in the irons and took a big deep breath after crossing the line, before fist pumping the sky.<\/p>\n \u201cThe love for this horse, she\u2019s proven now that it wasn\u2019t a fluke last week and she\u2019s a champion, I believe,\u201d Bates said.<\/p>\n \u201cFew people have said to me that I stole it last week and it is a discredit to her to say that I stole it because I think I\u2019m happy with how I executed the tactics, but they are tactics that you can\u2019t employ on many horses. You need a horse with a serious engine and a will to win.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we are made for each other.<\/p>\n \u201cI just love this mare so much. She proved it\u2019s no fluke. She\u2019s a champion now, especially in my eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Brightside\u2019s runner-up finish saw him finish his six-run campaign with three wins and three seconds.<\/p>\n A decision is still to be made on whether he potentially travels to Hong Kong next month to seek revenge for his Cox Plate defeat at the hands of Romantic Warrior.<\/p>\n \u201cTwelve months [ago] he wouldn\u2019t be able to do what he did today, so it\u2019s really exciting to see how he comes back in the autumn, or maybe they\u2019ll find another race for him,\u201d jockey Craig Williams said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Hayes boys have got such a good handle on this horse, he looks fabulous, he\u2019s performing fantastic, but unfortunately the only thing we didn\u2019t do today was win.\u201d<\/p>\n Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Champions Mile<\/h3>\n
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