The 2018 Empire Rose Stakes, previously known as the Myer Classic, is a Group 1 fillies and mares race that is held at Flemington Racecourse in late October or early November each year.
The race is held as part of the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival and is run on the first day of the four day Melbourne Cup Carnival. Run over a distance of 1,600 metres, the Empire Rose Stakes is held under weight-for-age conditions and is worth $500,000 in prize money.
2018 Empire Rose Stakes Results
- 1st: #3 Shillelagh
- 2nd: #8 Bring Me Roses
- 3rd: #16 Fundamentalist
The Empire Rose Stakes is held on the same day as three other Group 1 races, the Victoria Derby, the Longines Mile and the Coolmore Stud Stakes and is regarded by many as the best day’s racing on the Victorian Racing Calendar.
The Empire Rose Stakes has had a reasonably short history, with the first race being run in 1988 when it was won by Concordance. The race was initially held as a Listed race until 1995 when it became a Group 3 race. The Myer Classic was elevated to Group 2 status in 1997 and eventually was rewarded with its Group 1 status in 2004.
Throughout the running of the Empire Rose Stakes the race has had a total of six different names, including The Honda Legend, Hong Kong Bank Stakes and Nestle Peters Classic. The race became known as the Myer Classic after being sponsored by Myer in 2005.
Horses that run in the Empire Rose Stakes often come via avenues such as the Group 2 Blazer Stakes or the Group 2 Tristarc Stakes earlier in the carnival.
The Empire Rose Stakes has continually produced high quality winners including Natural Wonder (1990), Miss Zoe (2002), Lotteria (2005), Divine Madonna (2007) and in more more recent years the Peter Moody trained Horse Of The Year Typhoon Tracy (2009), the very popular Red Tracer (2013) from the Chris Waller stable and the well deserved winner Politeness (2015) prepared by noted Caulfield trainer Robert Smerdon.
No horse has won the Empire Rose Stakes on more than one occasion.
2018 Empire Rose Stakes Field
| No | Last 10 | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Barrier | Weight | Penalty | Hcp Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7100×43111 | I AM A STAR (NZ) | Shane Nichols | Ben Melham | 3 | 57kg | – | 108 |
| 2 | 43215×1412 | INVINCIBELLA | Chris Waller | Hugh Bowman | 12 | 57kg | – | 108 |
| 3 | 76x462x444 | SHILLELAGH (NZ) | Chris Waller | James McDonald | 10 | 57kg | – | 110 |
| 4 | 65467×9513 | ECKSTEIN | Kurt Goldman | Kerrin McEvoy | 1 | 57kg | – | 105 |
| 5 | x503768x83 | ALOISIA (NZ) | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | Michael Walker | 14 | 57kg | – | 104 |
| 6 | x350397x64 | INVINCIBLE GEM | Kris Lees | Corey Brown | 13 | 57kg | – | 106 |
| 7 | 1214x0x042 | KENEDNA | Darren Weir | Damian Lane | 11 | 57kg | – | 95 |
| 8 | x230040x74 | BRING ME ROSES | Tony McEvoy | Damien Oliver | 9 | 57kg | – | 93 |
| 9 | 12235×2141 | SHUMOOKH | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Tim Clark | 7 | 57kg | – | 108 |
| 10 | 446x5x1550 | LA BELLA DIOSA (NZ) | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Mark Zahra | 16 | 57kg | – | 103 |
| 11 | 11161×4297 | BELLA MARTINI | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes | Brenton Avdulla | 6 | 57kg | – | 96 |
| 12 | 11x5292x64 | TEMPLE OF BEL | Tony McEvoy | Luke Currie | 17 | 57kg | – | 76 |
| 13 | 2322×54413 | OOHOOD | Tony McEvoy | Craig Williams | 4 | 50kg | – | 104 |
| 14 | x31591x383 | SEABROOK (NZ) | Mick Price | Michael Dee | 5 | 50kg | – | 102 |
| 15 | 422×1111 | AMPHITRITE | Darren Weir | Dean Yendall | 8 | 50kg | – | 105 |
| 16 | 1223×08822 | FUNDAMENTALIST | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Ben Thompson | 15 | 50kg | – | 94 |
| 17e | 5433362332 | MAMZELLE TESS | Leon & Troy Corstens | Jye McNeil | 2 | 57kg | – | 88 |
The Myer Classic field is limited to 16 horses and 4 emergency runners. The usual type of horse to enter the Myer Classic field is a fairly well-rounded mare who has had plenty of black type experience around the 1600m mark. Or, you might find some particularly talented three year old fillies lining up in the Myer Classic field on the back of a successful spring campaign.
2018 Empire Rose Stakes Nominations
Empire Rose Stakes nominations draw horses from stables around the entire country. As a major Group 1 feature event for fillies and mares, the Empire Rose Stakes nominations attract a decent amount of top quality contenders. The Empire Rose Stakes nominations fairly accurately reflect the overall quality of the current crop of fillies and mares on the racing circuit.
| No. | Last 10 | Horse | Sex | Age | Trainer | Hcp Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | x503768x83 | ALOISIA (NZ) | M | 4 | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | 104 |
| 2 | 422×1111 | AMPHITRITE | F | 3 | Darren Weir | 105 |
| 3 | 11161×4297 | BELLA MARTINI | M | 4 | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes | 96 |
| 4 | x230040x74 | BRING ME ROSES | M | 4 | Tony McEvoy | 93 |
| 5 | 65467×9513 | ECKSTEIN | M | 5 | Kurt Goldman | 105 |
| 6 | 3x4213x303 | EL DORADO DREAMING | F | 3 | Kris Lees | 102 |
| 7 | 1223×08822 | FUNDAMENTALIST | F | 3 | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | 94 |
| 8 | 7100×43111 | I AM A STAR (NZ) | M | 5 | Shane Nichols | 108 |
| 9 | 43215×1412 | INVINCIBELLA | M | 5 | Chris Waller | 108 |
| 10 | x350397x64 | INVINCIBLE GEM | M | 5 | Kris Lees | 106 |
| 11 | 1214x0x042 | KENEDNA | M | 5 | Darren Weir | 95 |
| 12 | 446x5x1550 | LA BELLA DIOSA (NZ) | M | 5 | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | 103 |
| 13 | 5433362332 | MAMZELLE TESS | M | 6 | Leon & Troy Corstens | 88 |
| 14 | 12x412x217 | NOIRE | M | 5 | Chris Waller | 105 |
| 15 | 2322×54413 | OOHOOD | F | 3 | Tony McEvoy | 104 |
| 16 | 3131641353 | PRINCESS POSH | M | 5 | Kris Lees | 100 |
| 17 | x31591x383 | SEABROOK (NZ) | F | 3 | Mick Price | 102 |
| 18 | 76x462x444 | SHILLELAGH (NZ) | M | 7 | Chris Waller | 110 |
| 19 | 12235×2141 | SHUMOOKH | M | 4 | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | 108 |
| 20 | 11x5292x64 | TEMPLE OF BEL | M | 4 | Tony McEvoy | 76 |
Empire Rose Stakes Results
Below you will find a list of Empire Rose Stakes winners, place getters and winning times since the year 2000.
| Year | Results | Winning Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 1 Shillelagh | 2 Bring Me Roses | 3 Fundamentalist | 1:34.86 |
| 2017 | 1 Shoals | 2 Eckstein | 3 Dixie Blossoms | TBD |
| 2016 | 1 I Am A Star | 2 French Emotion | 3 Denmagic | 1:35.56 |
| 2015 | 1 Politeness | 2 Fenway | 3 Azkadellia | 1:37.75 |
| 2014 | 1 Bonaria | 2 Sweet Idea | 3 Catkins | 1:36.55 |
| 2013 | 1 Red Tracer | 2 Catkins | 3 Fire Up Fifi | 1:36.45 |
| 2012 | 1 Appearance | 2 Soft Sand | 3 Secret Admirer | 1:34.97 |
| 2011 | 1 Hurtle Myrtle | 2 Sacred Choice | 3 Dysphonia | 1:37.5 |
| 2010 | 1 Sacred Choice | 2 Typhoon Tracy | 3 Hot Danish | 1:38.9 |
| 2009 | 1 Typhoon Tracy | 2 Lady Lynette | 3 Zarita | 1:35.3 |
| 2008 | 1 Forensics | 2 Absolutely Fabulous | 3 Mimi Lebrock | 1:35.9 |
| 2007 | 1 Divine Madonna | 2 Translate | 3 Red for Lou | 1:36.1 |
| 2006 | 1 Lyrical Bid | 2 Sea Change | 3 Kosi Bay | 1:37.6 |
| 2005 | 1 Lotteria | 2 Miss Potential | 3 Shania Dane | 1:35.4 |
| 2004 | 1 Miss Potential | 2 Alinghi | 3 Infinite Grace | 1:37.5 |
| 2003 | 1 Zanna | 2 Infinite Grace | 3 Mrs Tendulkar | 1:38.4 |
| 2002 | 1 Miss Zoe | 2 Purple Groove | 3 Ramanos Star | 1:35.8 |
| 2001 | 1 Market Price | 2 Pernod | 3 Calm Smytzer | 1:34.2 |
| 2000 | 1 Super Sequel | 2 Its Platonic | 3 Nova Claus | 1:37.8 |
