Imperatriz takes out the Champion's Sprint. Picture: Racing Photos
Dave McClelland counts himself as one lucky man.
When he dived into racehorse ownership for the very first time several years ago, not in his wildest dreams could he have imagined the path his first purchase Imperatriz would take him and his wife on.
“She’s our first ever racehorse we’ve owned, first ever horse,” McClelland said.
“A few of my Irish mates tell me how lucky I am but we won’t go into that!”
The once-in-a-lifetime ownership experience continued on Saturday with the star mare winning the G1 Champions Sprint (1200m), as they always are, McClelland and his fellow owners were there.
“I'm from Australia, my wife’s a Kiwi, all the Kiwis fly over… we just go wherever we can,” he said.
They might be packing their bags again in the coming months with Royal Ascot on the cards for Imperatriz.
“The rumours I'm hearing all around the place are Ascot, whether that’s true or not I don’t know."
WATCH: Imperatriz win the Champions Sprint