2023 Champions Sprint Winner Is Imperatriz By A Half-Length

[Wandering Eyes]

Brilliant mare Imperatriz extended her winning streak to five on the trot with another outstanding performance in the Group 1 $3 million Darley Champions Sprint (1200m) on Stakes Day.

The I Am Invincible five-year-old came off four consecutive Moonee Valley wins including her Moir Stakes – Manikato Stakes Group 1 double this spring.

Saturday had her running down the famous Flemington ‘Straight Six’ for the first time and she more than proved herself digging deep late to hold off her rivals.

After opening odds-on in the markets she got out to around $2.20 through Ladbrokes by race time and won like a short-priced favourite should.

Opie Bosson timed his run to perfection moving up to tackle the leader Front Page with a furlong to go.

Imperatriz hit the front and despite the late challengers coming she dug in and drew away to salute by a half-length for the punters.

Second was Matthew Smith‘s The Everest eighth place-getter Buenos Noches ($14) in a lovely run from the four-year-old, while Godolphin‘s two-time Group 1 winning mare at the track and trip In Secret ($3.50) finished a length back for third.

The victory saw Imperatriz become the first horse to take out the Manikato Stakes – Champions Sprint double in the same year since Buffering in 2013.

2023 Darley Champions Sprint Results

	Finish	No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Margin	Bar.	Weight	Penalty	Starting Price
	1	8	IMPERATRIZ	Mark Walker	Opie Bosson		8	56.5kg		$2.15F
	2	2	BUENOS NOCHES	Matthew Smith	Blake Shinn	0.5L	11	58.5kg		$14
	3	7	IN SECRET	James Cummings	James McDonald	1.25L	5	56.5kg		$3.50
	4	9	ESPIONA	Chris Waller	Kerrin McEvoy	2L	3	56.5kg		$26
	5	6	BELLA NIPOTINA	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Craig Williams	2.1L	1	56.5kg		$12
	6	1	FRONT PAGE	Matthew Dale	Tyler Schiller	5.1L	7	58.5kg		$21
	7	11	C’EST MAGIQUE	Grahame Begg	Michael Dee	5.85L	2	56.5kg		$151
	8	5	AIRMAN	Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes	Jye McNeil	6.05L	10	58.5kg		$26
	9	10	ASFOORA	Henry Dwyer	Mitchell Aitken	7.3L	9	56.5kg		$16
	10	3	LOFTY STRIKE	Julius Sandhu	Damien Oliver	9.05L	4	58.5kg		$61
	11	4	STAR PATROL	Clinton McDonald	Ben Melham	11.05L	6	58.5kg		$20

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

The post 2023 Champions Sprint Winner Is Imperatriz By A Half-Length appeared first on HorseRacing.com.au.

View the full article