Both Imperatriz and stablemate Entriviere, who got a pass mark finishing fifth, will head to the Foxbridge Plate at Te Rapa on August 27 and then Imperatriz is likely to head to the first Group 1 of the season in the Tarzino at Hastings.
Her logical Grand Final is the A$1 million Empire Rose at Flemington in October because as the winner of the New Zealand Breeders Stakes, she is eligible for a A$1 million bonus should she win the Flemington Group 1.
"It is the obvious target and David [Ellis] and I have discussed it but she will tell us after her next two or three races whether she is racing well enough for that."
Walker is taking a pragmatic attitude to Australian assaults this season, admitting it takes something special for Kiwis to fly across the Tasman.
"Imperatriz is the one horse we have who right now I know could handle it but we will let Entriviere show us where she is at in the Foxbridge.
"If she goes great there, it opens up Hastings and maybe even Australia for her, but we also have the option of freshening her and defending the Railway [New Year's Day]."
Dragon Leap was excellent in second on Saturday, suggesting he can win a major race if his body doesn't betray him again. The jury is out on The Bubbles, who was poor.
Sad but stable
Injured jockey Taiki Yanagida continues to fight for his life in intensive care at Waikato Hospital.
The 28-year-old suffered head and spinal injuries in a race fall at Cambridge last Wednesday and has been in an induced coma since.
While his condition didn't improve over the weekend, it didn't get any worse, and doctors plan to reduce his levels of sedation in the next few days hoping to bring him out of his coma.
His injuries have shaken the racing industry, with Yanagida popular and respected for his talent and work ethic.
Even if he regains consciousness this week, he faces some enormous challenges on the road to recovery.
Terry on top
Few jockeys have a renaissance in their 50s like Canterbury's Terry Moseley.
Moseley won his 50th black type race in New Zealand with a beauty on Lord Darci in the $100,000 Winter Cup at Riccarton on Saturday and is riding in career best form.
Many thought Moseley might slow down when he joined the elite 1000 wins club in 2017 but he is now up to 1206 career wins and topped $1 million in stakes for a season for the first time last year.
Lord Darci is trained by former All Black Bevan Wilson, making the Winter Cup about the only win an All Black had all weekend after the disappointment in South Africa.