Imperatriz and Opie Bosson combine for yet another big win in the Manikato Stakes.One has established herself as the best horse in her senior co-trainer’s career, while the other is making serious inroads to that exalted position.
Comparisons and relative merits are worthy metrics, but the true quality of New Zealand-owned and trained racemares Imperatriz and Prowess was again plain to see in their respective wins on Cox Plate day at The Valley last weekend.
Imperatriz made no race of the Gr. 1 Manikato Stakes to retain her unbeaten record on the unique circuit, while Prowess returned to the form of her stunning autumn campaign in the Gr. 2 Crystal Mile.
Reflecting on the seventh Group One win by Imperatriz in a haul of 16 from 22 starts, Mark Walker makes a considered response when measuring the many top performers he has prepared over the past 25 years.
“I think she’s the best of them all now,” said Walker, who has been joined in partnership this season by Sam Bergerson in what is now a transtasman operation following the establishment of Te Akau Racing’s Cranbourne stable.
“Before she came along it would have been a toss-up between King’s Chapel and Darci Brahma, with Princess Coup close up behind them.”
That trio, who between them won 12 Group One races, were the stars of Walker’s first stanza in charge of the David Ellis-led Te Akau operation before he relocated to set up a stable in Singapore. King’s Chapel won four elite races through 2003 and 2004, Darci Brahma followed in the slipstream with five Group Ones from 2005 to 2007, and Princess Coup won four in 2007 and 2008.
Jamie Richards was the original trainer of Imperatriz, preparing the daughter of I Am Invincible for victory in the Gr. 1 Levin Classic in early 2022, shortly before handing the reins back to Walker when he took up a Hong Kong licence.
“It’s quite incredible what she’s done this campaign, she’s just kept raising the bar,” says Walker. “We already knew what she was capable of and after what she did at home and then won the William Reid at Moonee Valley in the autumn.
“We set her some big targets, you could never realistically expect her to win them all but she has.
“There’s one more peak to climb (the Gr. 1 Champions Sprint at Flemington on Saturday week). It will be a different sort of race up the 1200-metre straight at Flemington, but with the month between runs we had time to give her a run down the chute and that went well. It’s going to be interesting on a quite different track, but we’re up for it.”
Roger James, who for the past five years has trained in partnership with Robert Wellwood, uses his four-time Group One winner Silent Achiever as the benchmark in measuring Kingsclere Stables excellence.
As a three-year-old the O’Reilly filly won the New Zealand Derby, and in a momentous autumn five-year-old campaign she strung together wins in the Gr. 1 New Zealand Stakes, Ranvet Stakes and BMW.
In 2012 Silent Achiever had also won the same Crystal Mile as Prowess and two years later she returned to Moonee Valley to record what James and owner-breeder Kevin Hickman regarded as her standout performance, albeit for third, beaten a short neck and a half-head in Adelaide’s Cox Plate.
Earlier this year when Prowess was putting together a faultless formline capped by the Gr. 1 Vinery Stud Stakes in Sydney, James alluded to the daughter of Proisir having the potential to be his best ever, and that remains only as far as he will go.
“She still hasn’t won a Ranvet or a BMW, but she is on the right trajectory,” he told RaceForm. “She’ll run in the Champions Stakes on the final day at Flemington, but that will be it for now.
“I’m very comfortable with what will be a three-start campaign. The setbacks we had during the spring were frustrating, but in reality they’ve turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
“That gave her the time she needed and that’s been proven by the form she’s now showing. Weight-for-age over 2000 metres at Flemington will be another step up, but we’re looking forward to see what she can do.”
James is careful not to get ahead of himself, however the inaugural $1 million Elsdon Park Aotearoa Classic for four-year-olds over 1600m on the Karaka Millions card has obvious appeal.
“That race is enticing, and it could work well as a stepping stone to races like the Australian Cup and Sydney in the autumn, but we’ll deal with the present for now.”
Sydney in the autumn, which is already being spruiked as a clash with The Everest winner Think About It and possibly runner-up I Wish I Win, is one direction Imperatriz could take, while other options as far distant as Royal Ascot in June are also under consideration.
Having already increased 10-fold the A$360,000 that David Ellis bid for her as a yearling, Imperatriz still has the world at her feet, as does the year younger Prowess, who has turned her $230,000 Karaka price tag into more than $1.5 million.
