Imperatriz ridden by Michael Dee wins the Mittys McEwen Stakes at Moonee Valley Racecourse. Photo by Scott Barbour / Racing Photos
What Imperatriz will do at The Valley today would have seemed nearly impossible just a few years ago.
And that is before she even races in the A$1 million William Reid Stakes.
The New Zealand-trained mare is the $1.65 favourite going into the Group 1, the race that started her domination of Victoria’s elite sprint races last year.
Since winning the William Reid, held on a Friday night last year, Imperatriz has only been beaten once and that was almost a career-best performance running second with a 58kgs topweight in the Newmarket last start.
Back to weight-for-age on The Valley track she has never been beaten on, she is being rated a good thing by the market, even if her wide draw will bring luck and race tempo into play.
It wasn’t that long ago a New Zealand-trained sprinter being rated $1.65 to win a Group 1 sprint in Australia seemed laughable but the last five years have seen the most unlikely renaissance for Kiwis who can fly.
It was started by the still underrated The Bostonian, who won three Australian Group 1 sprints and then came Roch N Horse’s two stunners down the Flemington straight, winning the Newmarket and the Champions Sprint.
Both horses created new respect for New Zealand sprinters but that has been driven to a whole new level by Imperatriz, albeit she is Australian-bred so her magnificent run doesn’t pay quite the same dividends for our breeding industry.
Safely through today, Imperatriz may need to go a new level to win the TJ Smith in Sydney on April 6 – where I Wish I Win could lay in wait – but all going well, she looks certain to be the first New Zealand-trained starter in Australia’s greatest sprint The Everest in October.
A New Zealand horse winning The Everest really would be tearing down the gates of the Australian sprinting fortress and help to further fuel Te Akau’s ambitions across the Tasman, where trainer Mark Walker is likely to base himself from next year.
Their influence there has already grown far quicker than expected, with Imperatriz just one of their winning chances at The Valley today, with Campionessa (R5, No.1) and Quintessa (R7, No.12) both favourites for Group 2 races.
The stable also has Certainly (R6, No.2), who looks value at $5 in a Group 3 on her Australian debut, so today might be the first time a New Zealand stable has had four well-favoured runners in black-type races at the same Australian meeting.
All will be ridden by Opie Bosson giving him, on paper at least, the strongest book of rides for a New Zealand-based jockey at a major Australian meeting in years, perhaps decades.
While Imperatriz will be trying to dent more Australian sprinting pride in Victoria, the other great race that remains impervious to Kiwi advances, the Golden Slipper, takes centre stage in Sydney today.
For all the tradition of the Melbourne Cup and hype of The Everest, the Golden Slipper remains the most valuable race in Australia for the right horse, with well-bred colts who win it instantly worth north of A$20m, maybe double that.
This year’s Slipper (Rosehill, 6.40pm) has an added layer of intrigue as the two unbeaten colts Storm Boy and Switzerland are both owned by breeding giant Coolmore, and they opted to put their Northern Hemisphere jockey Ryan Moore on the more favoured Storm Boy.
That sees ex-pat Kiwi superstar James McDonald, who rode Storm Boy last start, on Switzerland in a race that could see one emerge worth a lot more than the other.
While the mega riches in Australia and the lack of a Group 1 here means the New Zealand domestic scene will play a support role today, there is still some great punting races at both Tauranga and Riccarton.
The $175,000 Ultimate Mazda Japan Trophy (Tauranga, 3.55pm) confirms again that full 1600m fields provide some of our best punting contests, with plenty of value around winning chances in Saint Bathans, Mali Ston, Financier and Rudyard.