Empire Rose Stakes Preview and Tips 02/11/24

It’s Derby Day at Flemington Racecourse. So, you know what that means? Three massive Group One races for us racing fans to sink our teeth into. We have the Victoria Derby, the Empire Rose Stakes and the Coolmore Stud Stakes. This is all leading up to the Melbourne Cup, which is raced on Tuesday.

Not to be outdone, some high-quality races are happening in Sydney as well. The likes of The Golden Eagle, the Rosehill Gold Cup and the Russell Balding Stakes are three of the highlights on the card at Rosehill Racecourse. There’s never been a better time to be a racing fan.

I’ve got Saturday tips for all six of those races, so check them out when you have the chance. For this article, in particular, I’m covering the Empire Rose Stakes. I’ve gone through the field and found my best bets, which you can find below here at OnlyRacing. No more waiting around, let's get stuck in!

The speed looks to be as fast as Grinzinger Belle wants to take it, she looks to be one of the only runners with a fast barrier speed. I expect the race tempo to be moderate and Grinzinger Belle will settle as the leader.

It’s a fairly open field, but the current narrow favourite at the moment with PlayUp, Atishu, will look to settle near the rear of the field, especially from a wide-ish barrier. She’ll wait for the right time and try to run them all down in the closing stages of the race.

Once again, I find myself wading through a massive pool of runners who have genuine winning claims! The 2024 Empire Rose Stakes field is as open as I’ve ever seen and this makes finding just one to put on top as my best bet very difficult. The name I kept coming back to was Orchestral though, so she gets the honours.

The 4YO is currently a $7.50 pop to win the race on Saturday, thanks to PlayUp. Put a line through her run in the Toorak Handicap last time out because she was held up at a vital point. When she finally got into some fresh air, she finished strongly. Tackles this one third-up and the multiple Group One winner has JMac on board.

Amelia’s Jewel is currently on the second line of betting with Bet365 and you’re getting $6.00 for her to win. It’s been a while since she’s seen the winner’s stall but does have two second places, both in Group Twos, so far this prep. She is also a Group One winner, so we know she has what it takes to run with the best of them.

Last time out, we saw her in the King Charles III Stakes where she finished fifth 3.7L off the pace. She’d had a few runs under her belt so far this prep, so she’s as fit as she’ll ever be. Also, she gets back to her on sex as well, which is another positive. Jumps from barrier two, so she’ll have a few options.

I had originally had Alsephina as my best roughie, but between yesterday and today, she has shortened from $10 to $8.50, with Dabble. So, she now gets the honour of my value bet. Yes, she has shortened, but $8.50 is still great value for a runner that I genuinely think can win the Empire Rose Stakes.

So far this prep, we’ve seen two third places and a win. Her performance last time out was great when she overcame a wide gate to finish third in the Toorak Handicap. Gets a better barrier this time out and Blake Shinn is back in the saddle after winning the Group Two Stocks Stakes with her two runs ago.

In a field like this one, I have to include Atishu as the danger and I think she could even win this if the others aren’t putting in 100%. The QuestBet market currently has her as the $4.60 favourite. Her record at Flemington Racecourse is hard to go past, winning on three occasions and filling in the minor placings twice (from eight runs).

With Grinzinger Belle likely to set the pace out front, this works in the hands of Atishu, who can put on a show in the closing stages, running most, if not all, of her competitors down. She is a Group One winner here at Flemington over the 2,000m, so there’s certainly a lot to like about the 7YO.

I like the look of Lekvarte as my best roughie for the Empire Rose Stakes. Lekvarte looks to be in career-best form at the moment. Only contested one Group One, where she was unplaced, so class is somewhat of a concern. But the form is good coming into this and the $17 we are getting for her at the moment from Bet Right is too good to pass up.

It doesn’t matter what the race tempo is, she’ll give herself the best chance of a top-three finish, that’s for sure. Last time out we saw her win the Group Three Angst Stakes and jockey Joshua Parr sticks with her again here. The pair seem to have a lovely partnership going, so let’s see what they can do in Group One company.

All my Empire Rose Stakes horse racing tips and their odds can be found here:

Bookmaker	Tip	Odds
	Orchestral (win)	$7.50
	Amelia's Jewel (each-way)	$6.00/$2.30
	Alsephina (each-way)	$8.50/$2.90
	Atishu (each-way)	$4.60/$1.90
	Lekvarte (place)	$4.60