Undefeated filly Imperatriz continued to impress at the Ellerslie trials on Tuesday, comfortably winning her 900m heat by five lengths over stablemate Palamos.
The daughter of I Am Invincible won both of her starts as a juvenile, including the Gr.2 Eclipse Stakes (1200m) at Ellerslie on New Year’s Day, but her season was curtailed following her maiden stakes victory.
“Imperatriz is well above average, she just got held up with a bit of an injury after the Eclipse, so we are just going to have to manage that pretty carefully,” trainer Jamie Richards said.
The three-year-old filly has come up well this time in, placing in her first-up trial on the Cambridge synthetic last month before Tuesday’s run.
She will likely step-out at Taupo later this month before heading to Hawke’s Bay for her first major target of the spring.
“She will more than likely kick-off at Taupo and we will give her a run there before she goes to the Gold Trail (Gr.3, 1200m),” Richards said.
Stakes targets are also on the agenda for Palamos.
“He trialled well considering he didn’t like the ground,” Richards said.
“Palamos will probably go to Ruakaka for the Northland Breeders (Gr.3, 1200m) and then maybe the El Roca (Listed, 1200m) or the Hawke’s Bay Guineas (Gr.2, 1400m). We will be guided by him.”
