Imperatriz headlines the William Reid Stakes field

March 19, 2024 12:46 pm.

Imperatriz headlines the Group 1 William Reid Stakes field at Moonee Valley this Saturday afternoon. (Photo by Pat Scala/Racing Photos)

The Group 1 William Reid Stakes will headline proceedings at Moonee Valley on Saturday afternoon, with 11 runners accepting for the time-honoured weight-for-age feature.

After finishing in first and second in the Group 1 Newmarket Handicap at Flemington last start, Imperatriz (-133.33) and Cylinder (+320) dominate the market as two of the three runners under double figures.

Although the Mark Walker-trained mare was beaten by Cylinder in the Newmarket down the Flemington straight, the daughter of I Am Invincible was arguably as impressive as the winner, considering she had to give the colt 6kg in the weights.

As the William Reid is a weight-for-age contest, Imperatriz will be the beneficiary of a 5.5kg weight swing with her nearest rival and she will return to The Valley, a track that she is unbeaten at from four starts.

The James Cummings-trained colt is the obvious danger to the star mare, but the difference in weight and the fact that this will be his first start at Moonee Valley, makes this clash much tougher for the impressive Newmarket Handicap winner.

Outside of the top two in the market, there are three runners coming through the Group 1 Oakleigh Plate, with the likes of King’s Gambit (+1000), Queman (+1400) and Hypothetical (+2500) accepting for the 1200m race.

Interestingly, online bookmakers have marked King’s Gambit, who finished seventh in the Oakleigh Plate, shorter than the other two runners, even though Queman defeated Hypothetical in a narrow finish to the Group 1 feature four weeks ago.

Ciaron Maher’s runners Bella Nipotina (+650) and I Am Me (+1200) are also given strong chances and they sit on the third and fifth line of betting.