A look at Timeform’s highest-rated mares of Day 1 at the National Sale.
Imperatriz will become one of the highest-rated mares ever offered for sale when Magic Millions puts her up on behalf of Te Akau Racing at Tuesday's race fillies and mares section of the National Broodmare Sale.
The five-year-old daughter of I Am Invincible is expected to challenge the Australasian record price for a broodmare of $5 million, which was set by Milanova in 2008.
Certainly, no 10-time Group 1 winners have been offered in Australia and Imperatriz at one stage this year held the mantle of being the world's highest-rated mare and the highest-rated sprinter of either sex.
Five of her elite-level wins came this season but it was her first-up win in the Group 2 McEwen Stakes (1000m), in which Rothfire and Giga Kick filled the minor placings, that earned her what rests as her career peak Timeform rating of 124+.
She owns four other 124 performances – last year's William Reid Stakes (1200m), Moir Stakes (1000m) and Manikato Stakes (1200m) wins, plus her second under 58kg in this year's Newmarket Handicap (1200m) – a 122 win in New Zealand and two additional Australian wins in 121.
That gives her the top eight ratings of any mare who will be offered 'off the track' on the Gold Coast this week with the next highest-rated lots in the race fillies and mares session listed below.
120 – ATISHU: A two-time G1 winner, the daughter of champion NZ stallion Savabeel posted her career peak when she won last year's Champions Stakes (2000m) at Flemington. She went 117 in her other G1 win, the 2023 Queen Of The Turf (1600m), but posted a 118 rating when second to Zougotcha in that race this year.
119 – CHAIN OF LIGHTNING: The daughter of Fighting Sun upstaged some of Australia's biggest names in the G1 T J Smith Stakes (1200m) on April 6, when she elevated from her previous best of 115 to 119.
116 – RUTHLESS DAME: The four-year-old by Tavistock joined the supplementary catalogue last week and is a welcome addition, having won the G1 Sangster Stakes (1200m) in 114 and running to that on two other occasions in defeat, but her career-best figure was recorded when second to Espiona in last year's The Invitation (1400m).
112 – MADAME POMMERY: Registered her G1 win in the 2022 Thousand Guineas (1600m), a figure the daughter of No Nay Never matched when second to Pericles early last spring.
112 – DENY KNOWLEDGE: Brought up her biggest win in last year's G2 Matriarch Stakes (2000m), when she rated 109, but ran career-best numbers last month when third in the G3 Easter Cup (2000m) and fourth in the Listed Mornington Cup (2400m).
111 – BELCLARE: A dual G1 winner in New Zealand, the Per Incanto six-year-old's highest-rated run was the first of her NZ Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes (1600m) wins, which came last year. Won that event again at her most recent start, in 109, while she went 110 to win the G2 Westbury Classic (1400m).
111 – LAVISH GIRL: Posted her biggest win in the G2 Angus Armanasco Stakes (1400m), which she won in 104, but ran to 111 when splitting a couple of mares who have since won at the highest level, Zapateo and Chain Of Lightning, in the 2022 G3 How Now Stakes (1200m).
The other Group 1 winners being offered are Affaire A Suivre, who went 104 to win the Australasian Oaks (2000m), and Ulanova, who won a Sistema Stakes in New Zealand but posted her career peak when running to 98 in the G3 Taranaki 2YO Classic (1200m).
The race fillies and mares hold down Day 1 of the National Broodmare Sale with two days of broodmares, many in-foal to some of the world's top sires, to follow on Wednesday and Thursday.
