Retired superstar Imperatriz will have a race named in her honour from this season’s Cox Plate Day forward, with the program’s existing open 1000-metre handicap now titled the Imperatriz Sprint.
The event’s prizemoney will be increased from $150,000 to $200,000 and will be run over the same course on which Imperatriz won the Group 2 McEwen and G1 Moir Stakes in 2023.
The Moir victory saw Imperatriz set The Valley’s current 1000-metre course record at 56.47 seconds.
She finished her career with five wins from as many starts at The Valley, the others being the 2023 G1 Manikato and both the 2023 and 2024 editions of the G1 William Reid Stakes.
The mighty Te Akau mare sits alongside Apache Cat and Black Caviar as the only dual winners of the latter.
“Imperatriz retired as the highest-rated sprinting mare in the world and was sold at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale for a record $6.6 million to Yulong Investments,” the Moonee Valley Racing Club said in a media statement.
“Currently in foal to Pierata, Imperatriz has taken to broodmare life as well as she did to her career on track and, as we celebrate 100 years of the William Reid Stakes, it is a fitting week to announce the Imperatriz Sprint on Ladbrokes Cox Plate Day in 2025.”
