A ten time Group I winner and one of the world’s best sprinters, Imperatriz was always going to be a show-stopper at Magic Millions National and even though she was back at home in New Zealand rather than walking the ring at the Gold Coast, the daughter of I Am Invincible brought the auditorium to a standstill while she was sold.
The best horse to carry the Te Akau tangerine, Imperatriz won 19 of 27 starts earning just shy of $7million in a career that started with a pre-Christmas juvenile win at Otaki in November 2020.
It was history in the making with Imperatriz selling for $6.6 million at today's National Broodmare Sale. @TeAkauRacing's champion heading to friends and clients of @YulongInvest. What a wonderful moment as the Southern Hemisphere record for a mare was smashed. pic.twitter.com/KLUMNNBfAg
— Magic Millions (@mmsnippets) May 28, 2024
At her third start as a spring three year-old, she beat a Savabeel gelding called I Wish I Win to win the Group III Northland Breeders Stakes at Te Rapa and what nobody knew then was that they had just seen the two best sprinters in Australia.
A two time Group I winner at 1600m at three, Imperatriz found her true calling when dropped back to sprinting as an older mare and when sent to Australia in March last year cut a swathe through our sprinters starting 10 times here for seven wins, two seconds and a fourth in her final appearance.
Bidding for Imperatriz opened at $4million and duly surged past the old record price for an Australian broodmare sold at auction set by Milanova, who sold for $5million back in 2008.
She was finally knocked down to Zhijun Zhao for $6.6million and will join another Te Akau super star in Melody Belle, who is also now in Yulong ownership after being purchased from this sale in 2021 for $2.6million.
The emotions!
$6.6 million for Imperatriz! pic.twitter.com/We6DmXbSf7— Magic Millions (@mmsnippets) May 28, 2024
“These are rare commodities,” said Yulong’s Vin Cox.
“A ten time Group One winner, they’re elite and they don’t give Group One races away at any level, in any country, in any jurisdiction.
“You know you had to dig deep coming here and I think she made well and truly enough money. Congratulations to Te Akau Racing and David and Karyn.
“They bought her here on the Gold Coast, raced her in New Zealand and then proved her here in Australia. Full credit to them. We had to dig deep to get her.”
Imperatriz has given her Te Akau owners the full fairytale experience having been purchased for $360,000 by David Ellis at the 2020 Magic Millions.
Her dam Berimbau was also bought by Yulong at the Inglis Chairman’s Sale last year for $1.8million and produced a colt for them last spring by I Am Invincible, who had a memorable day all round with his seasonal earnings also ticking past $30million on Tuesday.
Image: Magic Millions
