American business and thoroughbred tycoon John Stewart is the prime position to buy star mare Imperatriz when the sprinter goes up for sale at the Magic Millions sale this month.
The leviathan owner is of the belief our star horses are retired too early and Stewart wonders whether Imperatriz is one of those.
The 10-time Group 1 sprinter from New Zealand was retired by Te Akau Racing at the end of the autumn after the five-year-old daughter of I Am Invincible was the subject of a variety of veterinary tests.
From her final 10 starts in Australia, Imperatriz won six Group 1s, a Group 2 win and a second placing in the Newmarket Handicap.
She goes down as one of the best sprinters we’ve seen and there’s a huge chance we haven’t seen the last of her on the racetrack.
“I’m going to give it a go (buying Imperatriz),” Stewart told SENTrack’s Giddy Up.
“I think she lines up well with my program and you know what I see, I thought Goodnight Olive was a superstar up here in the US so I really like what she’s done on the track and after doing some investigation they’re selling her as a broodmare prospect but there might be an opportunity for her to race on.
“I’d talk to the trainers and it really comes down to whether we think she can run to the form that she has previously, I wouldn’t run her and do something that would be against what she’s done in the past.
“If the trainers felt like she had the opportunity to run on further, that’d be something I’d be interested in.”
Gareth Hall says Stewart is the current favourite to own Imperatriz after the Magic Millions sale.