Mick on Monday: Tomodachi set for Australian stint; Imperatriz sale decision expected

Tomodachi won the opening race at Te Rapa on Saturday. Photo / Race Images

Tomodachi is going a long way to pick a fight with her neighbour.

The beautiful Tarzino filly made it three wins from four starts in the opening race at Te Rapa on Saturday in the famous blue and white colours of owner-breeder Sir Peter Vela.

She was the first leg of a poignant 3-year-old filly double for trainers Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott, with I’munstoppable winning the Cambridge Breeders Stakes, just a day after the passing of O’Sullivan’s father, training great Dave O’Sullivan.

The O’Sullivan/Scott team already have their superstar filly Molly Bloom in Australia as she flew into Sydney yesterday and will travel by road to Queensland, where she contests the Gold Coast Bracelet on May 11.

Molly Bloom will then start in the Doomben Roses and Queensland Oaks and O’Sullivan says Tomodachi is likely to join her in those latter two races.

“She is a very, very good filly,” says O’Sullivan.

“She deserves her chance over there and I am sure she will win a good race one day so we will give her her shot at that next month.”

Molly Bloom is the $8 second-favourite for the Oaks on June 8, while Tomodachi looks over the odds at $26 in a market that will see plenty of fillies drop out in the coming weeks.

O’Sullivan confirmed yesterday his father’s funeral will be held at 11.30am on Thursday at the Holy Angels Catholic Church in Matamata, with a function afterwards at the Matamata racecourse.

Premature payout looming

Tomodachi’s win was the first of four for jockey Warren Kennedy on Saturday and he is already getting TAB bookies thinking about an early payout number for him to win the Premiership.

Kennedy sits 17 points clear of two-time defending champion Michael McNab with three months to go.

That sort of margin becomes increasingly harder to pull back in winter, not just because McNab could run out of time but there are less race meetings with fewer races and the jumps jockeys also become more active.

TAB bookie Stephen Hunt says while those who backed Kennedy won’t be getting paid out just yet, an early surrender has been discussed.

“I think if Warren gets to a lead in the mid-20s then we’d probably look at it,” says Hunt.

McNab’s ability aside, one other factor that could slow an early payout is McNab was heavily backed to win the Premiership.

Kennedy’s win on Snazzytavi in the Manco Easter on Saturday took him to 108 wins and his New Zealand record stakes for the season continue to grow to $5,298,931.

It was also his 17th black type win for the season, equalling the recent best domestic seasons of McNab and Opie Bosson.

Imperatriz sale decision expected

Te Akau could reveal today where and when champion sprinter Imperatriz will be sold.

The multiple Group 1 winner was retired two weeks ago after a sensational last 18 months but will, like most mares owned by big syndicates, be sold at public auction.

The three major Australasian bloodstock auction companies, New Zealand Bloodstock (NZB), Magic Millions and Inglis, have all put proposals to Te Akau boss David Ellis about what kind of sale conditions, live or online, they can provide for Imperatriz.

Many in the industry expect Imperatriz’s price to top $5 million.

Te Akau have sold well over $10m worth of mares at public sales in the last three years, including Avantage, who fetched a world record online price of $4.1m in September 2021 when sold on NZB’s Gavelhouse Plus website.

Ellis says he could announce how and when Imperatriz will be sold as early as Monday afternoon, once he has spoken to her syndicate of owners.