The feature race of the night at Moonee Valley was the Group 1 Moir Stakes and the hot favourite Imperatriz -153.85 proved way too good for her rivals as she gave them a start and a beating over the 1000m scamper.
Opie Bosson and Mark Walker continued on their merry way by winning another feature Group 1 at the Valley, with the duo picking up their third Group 1 success with the star mare in Melbourne.
As expected, the sparks were flying early as Zoustyle +2200 and Acromantula +4000 went to the front and battled for the lead for most of the race, setting up the race perfectly for the backmarkers.
When the field hit the home bend, Asfoora +700 took over and kicked clear by a length, but Imperatriz was looming large on the outside and when she let down, the favourite flew straight past her to record a dominant win.
Although they weren’t able to go with the winner, Uncommon James +650 and The Inferno +7000 flew home to finish in third and fourth, respectively.
2023 Group 1 Moir Stakes Replay – Imperatriz | T: Mark Walker | J: Opie Bosson
Mark Walker spoke post-race about the win of his star mare.
“It was a great effort tonight,” Walker said.
“She hits a little bit of a flat spot in her races, but she came back underneath Opie (Bosson) and at the top of the straight you could see what was gonna happen.
“I knew there would be a lot of speed in the race and Opie (Bosson) doesn’t panic, so I wasn’t worried where she settled.”
When Walker was asked about the potential slot in The Everest north of the border, he gave a straight forward answer to end all of the questioning around her.
“The mare is so happy down here, so I don’t see any sense in putting her on a float. They are prestigious races and she’s loving it down here,” he said.
Opie Bosson has now taken his career Group 1 victories to 92 after claiming the Moir Stakes on Imperatriz.
“She just gives you an amazing feeling when she lets down,” Bosson said of Imperatriz.
“I was a bit worried today, as she was a bit fresh and she tried to buck me off going down to the start.
“She’s pretty easy.
“All credit to the team at Te Akau and Mark Walker.”
Imperatriz is the clear favourite at -142.86 in the futures market for the Manikato Stakes with most online bookmakers.
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