Michael Freedman‘s flying Sydney visitor Apocalyptic heads south as a dominant favourite, poised to secure back-to-back Group 1 triumphs in the $1.5 million Thousand Guineas (1600m) on Caulfield Cup Day.
Flight Stakes winner Apocalyptic heads south chasing more Group 1 glory in the Thousand Guineas. Photo: Bradley Photos.
A dozen of the season’s premier middle-distance fillies are set to contest a strong edition of the classic over the Caulfield mile this weekend.
Apocalyptic is chasing a rare four-peat after completing the Princess Series three-peat in Sydney.
The talented daughter of Extreme Choice is lightly raced with immense upside, already boasting two Group 2 victories and an elite level win over the distance this campaign.
She barely raised a sweat securing the Group 1 Flight Stakes at Randwick a fortnight ago and appears to have plenty left in the tank.
Global Glamour (2016) was the last filly to complete the coveted Flight Stakes – Thousand Guineas double, and significant money suggests Apocalyptic will be the next.
In-form hoop Mark Zahra takes the reins in place of Tommy Berry, and from an ideal draw in barrier four, the favourite is rightly hard to beat.
Apocalyptic is priced at $2.10 in the latest Thousand Guineas odds at Ladbrokes.
The Key Dangers
The primary threat, and the only other single-figure chance, is the Peter Moody & Katherine Coleman-trained Ole Dancer ($5.50).
Jumping from barrier five with Blake Shinn maintaining the partnership, the Ole Kirk filly makes her maiden Group 1 appearance.
She arrives off a thrilling photo-finish second in the Group 2 Thousand Guineas Prelude at Sandown and looks set to relish the step up to the mile.
Meanwhile, Prelude winner Ferivia is looming as a genuine value runner at $14 in the current Thousand Guineas betting markets for Saturday.
The Phillip Stokes-trained daughter of Astern is well-bred and drawn a dream in barrier three for Lachlan Neindorf.
A three-time winner from five starts, she boasts a Group 3 Quezette Stakes win from earlier in the prep.
Crucially, she carried 58kg to victory in the Prelude and now drops to 56kg, making her a strong chance to challenge late.
Ferivia is out to be the first filly to complete the Prelude – Thousand Guineas double for the first time since Irish Lights in 2009.
Another contender keeping the turf triumphs coming is the Danny O’Brien-trained Getta Good Feeling.
The daughter of So You Think stormed home to capture Flemington’s Group 2 Edward Manifold Stakes (1600m) on Turnbull Day and sticks to the same distance from gate two with Billy Egan in the saddle.
Three-time Thousand Guineas winning trainer Chris Waller is represented by Karinska ($11), who is seeking an upset.
The Spirit Of Boom filly has only one win to her name but signalled her potential when she exceeded expectations to grab third at 25/1 in the Flight Stakes at this distance.
The 2025 Thousand Guineas is set to run as Caulfield Race 7 at 3:45pm (AEDT) on Saturday’s 10-race Melbourne card.
2025 Thousand Guineas Field & Barriers
| No | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Barrier | Weight | Age | Sex | Last Starts | Prize Money |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apocalyptic | Mark Zahra | Michael Freedman | 4 | 56kg | 3 | F | 2×111 | $808,200 |
| 2 | Ferivia | Lachlan Neindorf | Phillip Stokes | 3 | 56kg | 3 | F | 12161 | $346,600 |
| 3 | Ole Dancer | Blake Shinn | Peter G Moody & Katherine Coleman | 5 | 56kg | 3 | F | 1×152 | $253,300 |
| 4 | Getta Good Feeling | Billy Egan | Danny O’Brien | 2 | 56kg | 3 | F | 3×321 | $200,920 |
| 5 | Zany Girl | Jye McNeil | Stuart Gandy | 8 | 56kg | 3 | F | x1734 | $199,875 |
| 6 | Salty Pearl | Ben Allen | Ciaron Maher | 6 | 56kg | 3 | F | 31×33 | $187,000 |
| 7 | Steel Trap | Luke Currie | Tony & Calvin McEvoy | 12 | 56kg | 3 | F | 21×01 | $186,139 |
| 8 | Cherish Me | Andrea Atzeni | Ciaron Maher | 1 | 56kg | 3 | F | 0x610 | $168,000 |
| 9 | Ethereum Girl | Harry Coffey | Ben, Will & Jd Hayes | 9 | 56kg | 3 | F | 121×4 | $153,140 |
| 10 | Karinska | Nash Rawiller | Chris Waller | 7 | 56kg | 3 | F | x5653 | $123,500 |
| 11 | Chateau Eze | Daniel Stackhouse | Mark Walker | 11 | 56kg | 3 | F | 12 | $49,100 |
| 12 | Mating Call | Jamie Melham | Dan Clarken & Oopy MacGillivray | 10 | 56kg | 3 | F | 163 | $45,665 |
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