3 minute read
Trainer and jockey quotes after Imperatriz claims the Group 1 3 Point Motors William Reid Stakes at Moonee Valley on Saturday.
Race Result:
1st: Imperatriz (O Bosson/M Walker) - $1.70F
2nd: Johnny Rocker (R McLeod/N Ryan) - $71
3rd: I Am Me (B Melham/C Maher) - $6.50
Winning Time: 1:09.99 Last 600m: N/A
Margins: Short Neck x 2L
That's 10 G1s for the star mare
— Racing.com (@Racing) March 23, 2024
Imperatriz defends her William Reid title & reclaims her throne
@TeAkauRacing pic.twitter.com/P4qql8TkMw
Winning Trainer: Mark Walker
"Great thrill. Especially after the Newmarket. She really dug deep that day and to come back here and do it at her favourite track, it is a bit of relief, really.
"Great to see her win and (I'm) looking forward to a beer.
"She got into a nice spot and we haven't had much luck today on the fence so I knew we'd be out from the draw but it was great to come back from the Newmarket (and win), because that was a tough run and to show her fighting qualities today was brilliant.
"She's extremely good and thankful that she's in the stable. Full credit to Ben and the team and all of our staff in New Zealand.
"I knew we wouldn't be anywhere near the fence so I was quite happy about that. All of the horses ran pretty well today without a lot of luck. It is good to get the main one.
Handles Moonee Valley: "I wish they had all group ones here."
Winning Jockey: Opie Bosson
From the draw: "I seemed to get in quite nicely behind Bella Nipotina and I thought she'd take me into the race but she didn't.
"I had to make quite a long run, to be fair to her, down the side and when we turned in and she gets on that right let going down the straight she is amazing.
"You can feel her picking up underneath you and once she balances up she is all class.
To win after getting beaten in the Newmarket: "I got off her that day and said to Mark that she'll be hard to beat at weight-for-age in any race from now on.
"I'm glad she came out there and won the way she did."
Beaten Jockeys:
Declan Bates (The Astrologist): "He was a bit slow out of the gates today which cost him his chance. He finished off OK but he lost it at the start."
Jake Noonan (The Inferno): "It was a good return and he'll take some good improvement off that and hopefully he'll improve off that."
Harry Coffey (Queman): "He rounded out the race good. He missed the start and that put us back in an awkward spot but he finished off well."
Rhys McLeod (Johnny Rocker): "Unbelievable effort by him. We wanted to follow the mare throughout, we did, and he just kept coming up underneath me. I thought we were a real shot at the top of the straight, but she's a real tough mare."
John Allen (Bella Nipotina): "She was honest. She ran well."
Ben Melham (I Am Me): "Terrific run first-up. It's her toughest assignment first-up, 1200 metres at Group 1. She's only going to improve off that and the winner is a freak."
Billy Egan (Queen Of The Ball): "She did what she did, but she landed in a handier position than we probably thought she would."
Michael Dee (Hypothetical): "Probably conditions at weight-for-age were a bit too tough for her. She loves the rail and down the side is very average at this stage of the day but she still tried hard."
Beau Mertens (Cylinder): "He jumped well, travelled nicely. We landed exactly where we would have liked to be. He tracked up and I thought when the pressure came on he just struggled to pick up with them and unfortunately he wasn't there today. He more a class horse than he showed today."
