I'm Imposing is in the twilight of his racing days but he is such a summer-time horse that Chris Waller has a cautious push on for one final curtain call.
The 10-year-old was saved from retirement to shoot for a third consecutive Summer Cup on Boxing Day and will look for back-to-back Festival Stakes at Rosehill on Saturday.
Waller was mindful of not going one run too far with I'm Imposing, who is of the same vintage as Red Cadeaux, and had him vetted before going into the final three runs of his career. He was found to be very sound.
I'm Imposing was just about retired after his third behind Complacent and Hauraki in the Craven Plate in October, but Waller decided he is up to another shot at the summer.
Professional golfer Wayne Riley is one of many owners to have enjoyed the trip as I'm Imposing has gone from breaking down to winning a couple of group races, even being group 1-placed in the Doomben Cup earlier in the year.
But he admitted Melbourne Cup day had all the owners asking the same question.
"It just brought it home but I just trust what Chris tells us, if he wants to retire tomorrow so be it," Riley said. "The last run he had was a third and we were going to retire him then.
"Chris came to us and said why retire this horse? Let's keep it going, he is happy and going well. He did all the checks.
"It has been a great ride with this horse for us and he owes us nothing, we owe him.
"I just wish it wasn't 10, I wish it was six, so we could enjoy it for longer."
Riley marvels at what Waller has done with I'm Imposing and the care he has taken to make sure he has had a prolonged racing career after missing a couple of years in his prime.
"He has brought an injured horse back, that we got from Lloyd Williams, and he has just nurtured and nurtured it," Riley said. "At one point we didn't even know if he would race for us, but Chris got us here.
"Any time I got invited to go into a horse with Chris Waller and my mates were in it, I'm in. He has just been so good with everything."
I'm Imposing has top weight in the Festival, where Waller also starts Heart Testa pushing out to the 1500 metres, which is right on his limit.
"He is taking on few up-and-comers, so it would be be good to see him running into a place, but look what happened last year," Riley sad.
I'm Imposing was a $21 outsider when he won the Festival last year and is at a similar quote with Ladbrokes for Saturday, where the Gai Waterhouse-trained Frespanol and It's Somewhat from the Godolphin yard are fighting out favouritism at $4.60 and $5 respectively.
