Potential buyers of the world's highest-rated mare, Imperatriz, have already visited the 10-time group 1 winner at Te Akau Stud in New Zealand ahead of her sale next month, with expectations that her value could soar to a record-breaking figure.
Magic Millions won the three-way battle to offer the champion mare on behalf of the David Ellis-led syndicate of owners, with the rising 6-year-old mare to be sold in absentia at the company's National Broodmare Sale on the Gold Coast in four weeks.
Imperatriz will be the showcase mare of the opening race fillies and mares session Tuesday, May 28, with Te Akau principal Ellis and Imperatriz's owners electing to partner with Magic Millions to auction the rare equine commodity. The presence of the daughter of I Am Invincible—Berimbau, by Shamardal, at public auction could see the 16-year-old Australasian record of AU$5 million (US$3.28 million) paid for a broodmare broken at the Gold Coast. Milanova sold for that figure in 2008 at an Inglis breeding stock sale.
Inglis and New Zealand Bloodstock's online platform Gavelhouse had also presented compelling proposals to Te Akau since it was announced 20 days earlier that Imperatriz's glittering four-season racing career was over.
Magic Millions managing director Barry Bowditch, who visited Te Akau Stud last week to view Imperatriz in the flesh and clinch the deal, described securing the mare as a coup for the company. Asked if she could eclipse Milanova's price tag, Bowditch said: "You'd think she has the credentials to break records, yes.
"She's well bred, her pedigree's there for all of us to see, and her race record is quite outstanding. When you put her ratings up globally against any mare in the world, she can stand up to any of them.
"We've seen what these mares are worth, be that in Europe or what they make in America; when you equate that to our currency, she's entitled to break records."
The winner of almost AU$7 million in purses and 19 of her 27 starts, Imperatriz was retired after finishing fourth in the TJ Smith Stakes (G1) this month, with a routine veterinary examination upon her return to New Zealand revealing "wear and tear" issues, prompting the decision.
She is spelling in a paddock at Te Akau Stud, where she'll remain until she's sold. Ellis said some interested parties had already been to the farm to undertake inspections of the valuable mare. A live feed of her parading at Te Akau Stud will be broadcast at the Gold Coast sales complex when she goes under the hammer as a supplementary entry late May 28.
Ellis, who intends to be at the Gold Coast when Imperatriz is sold, said: "There is no doubt Imperatriz will attract global interest and will be the headline act of the auction calendar internationally. Currently rated the world's best mare, her outstanding achievements speak volumes about her exceptional talent and tenacity on the track
"She won more group 1 races than any other horse worldwide in 2023, solidifying her status as one of the greatest race mares of recent decades."
