Trainer Alex Rae is set to unveil stable newcomer I’mateez, a blueblood colt and half-brother to champion sprinter Imperatriz, when he makes his debut at Sandown on Wednesday in the $50,000 Thoroughbred Club of Australia Handicap (1000m).
Rae and Lofty Thoroughbreds secured the son of Capitalist for $200,000 at the 2024 Gold Coast Yearling Sale after he was passed in with a reserve of $400,000. The colt, who is the fifth foal from Berimbau, has impressed in his early work and showed notable early speed in a recent 800m jumpout at Cranbourne.
“He is very, very fast, but he does seem one-dimensional,” Rae said.
“We’ve needed to have him fit and well educated because what you see is what you get, I think, so we are hoping he can respond when put under the pressure of race day.
This time around we’ve just let him run and be quick.”
I’mateez is rated a $18 chance on debut, and Rae acknowledged that his well-bred profile has created early expectations, which has meant there was no option to ease him in through lower-grade racing.
“He’s had five or six jumpouts I think, so he’s copped a bit in his two-year-old season, but it has all been very natural to him,” Rae said.
“We took a punt on a well-bred horse and we are going to get him to the races in one piece so retrospective it was probably worth the punt.
“There’s expectation on him being such a well-related colt that he could potentially be better than he is.
And that means it’s taken the option of starting at a B or C-grade venue out of the picture, so we’ve had to go straight to a mid-week race at Sandown against well-performed horses.
But that’s what he was bought for, he’s still a colt, he’s well related and you sort of need to throw him in the deep end.”
Meanwhile, Rae noted that a half-sister to I’mateez by I Am Invincible was withdrawn from this year’s Gold Coast Yearling Sale by Yulong.
In stable news, Gothic Stakes winner Lofty Arch is close to being cleared to return to training for a spring campaign, while Shock ‘Em Ova has progressed to fast work. Progressive galloper Top Calibre is also set to resume in the spring after undergoing a wind operation.
Punters interested in backing I’mateez on debut or following the stable’s spring runners can find the latest odds and markets through trusted Australian betting sites.