TWO RUNNERS TO WATCH: SAMUDRA AND I'MATEEZ FINISH ONE-TWO ON DEBUT AT SANDOWN

By Graham Potter | Wednesday, May 21, 2025

It was a Two-Year-Old Handicap that included two well related runners on debut … Samudra and I’mateez … that livened up interest in a midweek meeting at Sandown and which, in the end produced a one-two result between these two runners with only 0.40 lengths separating the winner Samudra, who started at the restrictive odds 0f $1.95, and the runner-up I’mateez, who was unwanted in the betting $21, at the line.

Racing from an inside draw, Ben Melham took his time taking Samudra to the lead, but he found that spot after the field had travelled 300m and he had Samudra hold that advantage by a narrow margin from the second favourite Latin Boss ($3.40) as the field straightened for home.

From there it was a long and stressful watch for the followers of the short-priced favourite as Latin Boss continued to annoy the front-runner and I’mateez, with Jye McNeil aboard, quickened up nicely from behind to almost make it a line of three with 200m left to run.

As pressured as she was though, Samudra never relinquished the lead, fighting on as hard as those around her, to keep I’mateez and Latin Boss back in a close-up second and third place respectively.

The Mark Walker trained Samudra is a daughter of the pairing of two Oakleigh Plate winners Snitzel (who won the Oakleigh Plate in 2006 and seven of his fifteen starts overall) and Pippie (the 2020 Oakleigh winner who finished her career with six wins from fifteen starts).

The chestnut filly had three jump-outs dating back to October 2024 before being set for her initiation into full race action … and the betting boards, with that $1.95 mark, indicated she was ready for her first-up assignment.

They were right … and she had to be to salute. It was a tough win in the end.

I’mateez, for his part, is a half-brother to Imperitriz, who landed ten Group 1’s in a career which totalled twenty-seven starts for nineteen wins and three runner-up finishes with $6 989 799 banked in prize-money. After her racing career was over, Imperitriz sold for $6.6 million at the 2024 Magic Millions Broodmare Sale.

Like Samudra, I’mateez was also given several educational jump-outs, taking his place in no less than six jump-outs also dating back to October 2024 before trainer Alec Rae gave the colt the green light to race at Sandown.

Both Samudra and I’mateez clearly have some big family shoes to fill but, fair to say, their beginning today was a positive one and, while it might be unrealistic to expect either of them to reach the heights recorded in their respective family trees, there was certainly the promise today of more to come.