Te Akau not worried about Imperatriz’s Sydney knockers: ‘You always get the tall poppy stuff’

Fresh off a spending spree at the Magic Millions, David Ellis says he couldn’t care less about those knocking him for not campaigning Imperatriz around The Everest last year,.

Imperatriz wins the Darley Champions Sprint at Flemington.

Te Akau boss David Ellis couldn’t care less about Sydney-based knockers who believe he should have taken his Kiwi flying machine Imperatriz to The Everest last year, saying he prefers Group 1s and will always do what’s right by the horse.

Fresh off a spending spree at the Magic Millions where he is looking to find the next Imperatriz, Ellis said he would consider The Everest this year, but is more than comfortable with his decision to stay in Melbourne during the spring which netted a Group 1 treble.

Connections of The Everest winner Think About It called for a showdown in the Canterbury Stakes in Sydney in the autumn, but Ellis confirmed Imperatriz will have a two-start preparation in Victoria before heading to the Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on April 6.

Queen of the sprint 👑

The first of the three Group 1s and sprinting bragging rights go to IMPERATRIZ who claims the spoils in the Darley Champions Sprint (1200m).

📽 @10SportAU | #StakesDaypic.twitter.com/4ax2aVpF44

— Victoria Racing Club (@FlemingtonVRC) November 11, 2023

READ | Giga Kick still sidelined with ‘strange injury'

“She will start in the (Group 1) Lightning (on February 17 at Flemington), then have another start in Victoria then come up to Sydney for the TJ Smith,” Ellis said.

The Kiwi racing giant said he would continue to do what is right by his eight-time Group 1 winner.

“(The talk about not going to Sydney) Didn’t annoy us, you always get the tall poppy stuff, particularly in racing,” Ellis said.

“We just concentrate on doing what is best for the mare, each and every start.

“What was best for Imperatriz during the spring was keeping her in Melbourne.

Imperatriz has not been beaten in almost a year after a golden spring campaign. Picture: Vince Caligiuri — Getty Images.

“We are not going to rule anything out this year, but it will always be in the interest of Imperatriz.

“In general terms we prefer to race in Group 1’s, but we’re not going to rule out going to The Everest this year, it is a decision that won’t be made until the winter.”

With Giga Kick confined to light treadmill work and not back in full work, Ellis said Imperatriz enjoyed her first piece of serious work in Victoria ahead of her autumn campaign on Thursday.

“She went to Cranbourne racecourse on Thursday morning for a gallop and (trainer) Mark Walker was down for it, he was very happy with her,” Ellis said.

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“It was her first proper piece of work and it puts her right on track for the autumn, he was very happy with her.”

Giga Kick’s trainer Clayton Douglas last week said he was “dying for a rematch” with Imperatriz after she dominated him in the Group 2 McEwen Stakes at Moonee Valley in the spring, but conceded his Group 1 winner hadn’t recovered from an innocuous muscle injury to his hindquarter.

Giga Kick is set to undergo scans in the coming weeks to determine his immediate racing future.

Douglas said it was possible Giga Kick could miss the entire autumn carnival and then return for the Brisbane winter to springboard into a spring tilt which would include an Everest mission.

Originally published as Te Akau not worried about Imperatriz’s Sydney knockers: ‘You always get the tall poppy stuff’