Superstar New Zealand racehorse Imperatriz isn’t the only one trying something new as she tackles the famous Flemington “straight six” in the A$3 million Champion’s Sprint today.
Because of all his amazing deeds in the saddle Hall of Famer jockey Opie Bosson has never won a straight race in his stellar career.
The pair combine in Imperatriz’s biggest ever test in the 1200m race, which are known in racing circles as a “straight six” because it is in a directly straight line and over six furlongs, an old term used for an eighth of a mile, which equates to 201.1m.
So 1200m down the Flemington straight is roughly six furlongs but while that distance will be ideal for Imperatriz the straight line experience will be totally new to her and somewhat of a novelty for Bosson.
New Zealand has no completely straight races, the closest thing is the dog-leg sprints at Trentham and Riccarton so Bosson has very little experience in them either.
“I have never won a straight race, the closest I got was second in a sprint in Hong Kong once,” he told the Herald.
“The key thing is finding the right horse to follow and I think tomorrow, if it is anything like last Saturday, getting cover from the wind.
“Last Saturday the wind was hitting the horses on the inside because it was coming from that direction so being wider and with cover helped.
“For that reason and the fact the track has had plenty of racing her draw (8 of 11) should mean she is in the right part of the track.”
Imperatriz has been stunning three times this spring, rising to a new level that suggests she could be the best sprinter in Australia and while today’s field has more depth than her last two outings she looks a horse in the zone and ready to do something brilliant again.
Her newest and toughest rival should be In Secret, who had won both her “straight six” races here and was a huge fourth in The Everest last start.
She gets James McDonald on board and if Imperatriz can deal to her it will go a long way to legitimising her claims to being the best sprinter in this part of the world.
Bosson also rides Ladies Man (R4, No.1) and Mustang Valley (R5, No.1) today and while Ladies Man carries a huge weight in his Melbourne Cup consolation start, Mustang Valley has a wide draw and would be suited by some rain, which isn’t forecast.
The latter clashes with fellow Cambridge mare Pearl Of Alsace, who looks well suited tp today’s conditions while later in the star-studded meeting another Cambridge heroine in Prowess tackles the weight-for-age horses at group 1 level in the Champions Stakes.
Prowess was good winning over 1600m at The Valley last start but should appreciate the roomier Flemington and the step up to 2000m today in a Champions Stakes missing some of the biggest names who have instead elected to go to today’s Mile instead.
She still has to beat West Wind Blows, the UK galloper who pushed subsequent Melbourne Cup winner Without A Fight so close in the Caulfield Cup but at $6 Prowess represents good each-way value with red hot jockey Mark Zahra in the saddle.
Melbourne Cup week ends and NZ Cup week starts today. Here are the 5 races not to miss on Crossover Day.
1: Champions Sprint, Flemington, 5.50pm NZ time: Kiwi sprint sensation Imperatriz the $1.90 favourite to cap a remarkable spring in one of Australia’s greatest speed tests.
2: NZ 2000 Guineas, Riccarton, 4.43pm: A racing classic with a rarity, an unbeaten favourite in Crocetti looking to justify $1.45 favouritism.
3: Champions Stakes, Flemington, 7.10pm NZ time: Cambridge mare Prowess in her greatest challenge against a hot weight-for-age field but she has class and Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Mark Zahra.
4: Matriarch Stakes, Flemington, 5.10pm NZ time: Kiwi girls Mustang Valley and Pearl Of Alsace take on the Aussie mares and a group 2 victory there would be worth so much to their future value.
5: Legacy Lodge Sprint, Te Rapa, 3.43pm: Babylon Berlin is a flying machine but has to carry a 59kgs topweight in her comeback race against a hot field.
Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald’s Racing Editor in 1995 and covers the world’s biggest horse racing carnivals.