Australia: Imperatiz, Buenos Noches ones to beat in respective sprint stakes

Imperatiz and Buenos Noches were first and second in the Group 1 Darley Champions Sprint at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Australia, last November, one of the country’s leading end-of-the-year sprints.

The two top-class runners are being kept apart for the beginning of their 2024 seasons in stakes on Friday evening.

Imperatiz will be an odds-on favorite to win the Group 1 Lightning Stakes, a $652,000 race run at five furlongs on a straightaway course, at Flemington.

Buenos Noches will start as a strong favorite in the Group 2 Expressway Stakes at six furlongs at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney.

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Imperatiz, a 5-year-old mare who has won 17 of 23 starts, has won her last five races, a span consisting of four Group 1 races and a Group 2 at distances ranging from five furlongs to six furlongs. Trained by Mark Walker, Imperatiz is capable of leading or racing as a stalker.

In the $2.01 million Darley Champions Stakes at six furlongs, a race formally known as the VRC Stakes, Imperatiz closed from a stalking position in a field of 11 to win by a half-length over Buenos Noches.

In the Lightning Stakes, Imperatiz is part of a field of eight that includes Bella Nipotina and Private Eye, the first two finishers in the Giga Kick Stakes at 6 1/2 furlongs at Rosehill Gardens on Nov. 4. Private Eye has not started since the Giga Kick Stakes, while Bella Nipotina was fifth in the Darley Champions Sprint.

Buenos Noches, a winner of 3 of 11 starts, was eighth of 12 in the $12.8 million Everest Stakes at six furlongs at Randwick on Oct. 14, the world’s richest sprint. Buenos Noches, a 4-year-old colt trained by Matthew Smith, is winless in three starts since the Group 3 Show County Stakes at six furlongs at Randwick in August, the most prestigious win of his career.

In the $195,600 Expressway Stakes, Buenos Noches has a formidable rival in King of Sparta, who won his last start in the $697,000 Magic Millions Sprint at six furlongs at Gold Coast Racecourse on Jan. 14. King of Sparta will be closing in the Expressway Stakes.

The Expressway Stakes drew a field of seven and is part of a 10-race Randwick program that begins at 8:30 p.m. Eastern or 5:30 p.m. Pacific. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

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