The final elite contest on Saturday’s stacked Flemington card sees a stellar group of mares duel in the Group 1 $1 million Empire Rose Stakes (1600m).
Fangirl is favourite to return to Group 1 winning form in the Empire Rose Stakes 2025. Photo: Bradley Photos.
Heading the market is Chris Waller‘s multiple Group 1 winning mare, Fangirl, who is the popular pick to add another major to her tally on Victoria Derby Day.
Waller, who is chasing his fourth win in this race and aiming for back-to-back success following Atishu’s victory in 2024, has a quartet of runners accepting the challenge.
Fangirl Primed for the Mile
The stable’s clear standout, the Sebring seven-year-old Fangirl, is the $4 favourite in the latest Empire Rose Stakes odds through Ladbrokes.
This will be her fourth career appearance at HQ, returning for the first time since running third in last year’s Champions Mile.
She presents fit, fourth-up, and is expected to peak this weekend.
Fangirl is drawn in gate six, with Kerrin McEvoy taking over the reins from James McDonald, who remains in Sydney to partner Autumn Glow in The Golden Eagle.
The mare will be looking to rebound from a sixth-place finish in the King Charles III at Randwick, where she was caught too far back and couldn’t make up the required ground to feature strongly.
While far from disgraced in that assignment, she now faces her own gender in Melbourne, is strongly supported to enhance her outstanding mile record of 17 starts for 5 wins, 3 seconds, and 2 thirds, and should reward her backers if McEvoy can keep her handy to the speed.
Stablemates and Speed Threat
The depth of the Waller yard is highlighted by his other contenders, which include Leica Lucy ($6), the Group 2 Let’s Elope Stakes winner Lazzura ($9), and the outsider Firestorm ($31).
Leica Lucy looks like a genuine winning chance, capable of upsetting her more fancied stablemate.
The reigning New Zealand Oaks champion has impressed in her two spring runs down under.
The four-year-old Derryn mare was a forgotten 30/1 roughie when fourth in the Let’s Elope (less than a length away), before flying home for third in the Toorak Handicap at Caulfield—a race shaping up as a hot form reference.
Having closed hard in the Toorak, she is drawn to get a kinder, on-speed run from barrier three on Saturday, with the flying Mark Zahra booked for the ride.
Of course, the mare likely to control the race is Ciaron Maher’s front-running star Pride Of Jenni ($5).
The bonny eight-year-old daughter of Pride Of Dubai is anticipated to go straight to the front and try to steal the show with her bold tactics.
She resumed brilliantly, leading all the way to blitz her rivals in the Group 2 Feehan Stakes, beating Treasurethe Moment by nearly two lengths.
While she didn’t secure the same favours in the King Charles III, if she can get back to her best and dictate terms around the roomy Flemington circuit, she has every chance of securing her second Empire Rose trophy after her 2023 victory.
Interstate Challenges
The super consistent Matthew Smith trained Idle Flyer ($7.00) is also being kept safe in the markets, with the Dundeel four-year-old drawn well in barrier five for Michael Dee.
She has raced exclusively in Sydney, notching six wins from her 11 career starts, and comes in confident after winning three of her past four assignments in easier company.
Saturday is a notable rise in grade and represents her acid test, but she earned her spot with an impressive win from barrier 13 of 13 in the Group 3 Angst Stakes at Randwick on The Everest Day.
Abounding ($9.50) is the other mare at single-figure odds in Empire Rose Stakes betting.
Brisbane visitors have enjoyed a charmed run over the carnival to date, and trainer Robert Heathcote will be hoping that continues with his talented Rich Enuff five-year-old, who hasn’t missed a place in her past five assignments.
At her latest outing, she was a one-length winner of the Group 2 Tristarc Stakes (1400m) and is now out to win over further than that distance for the first time with historic Caulfield Cup winning jockey Jamie Melham to ride.
The 2025 Empire Rose Stakes is set to run as Flemington Race 8 at 5:00pm (AEDT) as the penultimate event on the Victoria Derby Day card.
2025 Empire Rose Stakes Field & Barrier Draw
| No | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Barrier | Weight | Age | Sex | Last Starts | Prize Money |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pride Of Jenni | Declan Bates | Ciaron Maher | 7 | 57kg | 8 | M | 10×17 | $10,815,540 |
| 2 | Fangirl | Kerrin McEvoy | Chris Waller | 6 | 57kg | 7 | M | 1×416 | $10,668,690 |
| 3 | Abounding | Jamie Melham | Robert Heathcote | 1 | 57kg | 5 | M | x3321 | $2,657,750 |
| 4 | Damask Rose | Blake Shinn | Mark Walker | 9 | 57kg | 4 | M | 1×576 | $1,899,287 |
| 5 | Benagil | Craig Williams | Glen Thompson | 4 | 57kg | 4 | M | 103×3 | $1,169,760 |
| 6 | Leica Lucy | Mark Zahra | Chris Waller | 3 | 57kg | 4 | M | 14×43 | $985,934 |
| 7 | Lazzura | Tommy Berry | Chris Waller | 11 | 57kg | 4 | M | 4×115 | $894,945 |
| 8 | Firestorm | Adam Hyeronimus | Chris Waller | 8 | 57kg | 5 | M | 7×396 | $754,413 |
| 9 | Splash Back | Jordan Childs | Grahame Begg | 10 | 57kg | 5 | M | 52512 | $529,470 |
| 10 | Idle Flyer | Michael Dee | Matthew Smith | 5 | 57kg | 4 | M | x1121 | $367,300 |
| 11 | On Display | Ben Melham | Mick Price & Michael Kent Jnr | 2 | 57kg | 4 | M | 1×103 | $227,275 |
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