Two of the stars of New Zealand racing have provided Kiwi fans with a Group 1 golden weekend that will leave their Australian rivals pleased to see the back of them.
Prowess completed a wonderful 19 hours, dominating her filly rivals in the A$600,000 Vinery Stakes at Rosehill in Sydney yesterday, after Imperatriz beat some of Australia’s best sprinters in the A$1 million William Reid Stakes at The Valley in Melbourne on Friday night.
They will return home without another race in Australia this campaign, even though Prowess would have been red hot favourite for the ATC Oaks in two weeks and Imperatriz has Group 1 options in Sydney and Queensland.
Instead, their trainers, Roger James and Robert Wellwood with Prowess and Mark Walker with Imperatriz, will reward them with a break and start narrowing down their array of goals for next season.
For Prowess, that ultimate target could be the A$10 million Golden Eagle back at Rosehill in the spring, as she has the turn of foot to be competitive from 1400m to 2000m or further.