Empire Rose Stakes Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends (Melbourne Cup Carnival)

Explore the history of the Empire Rose Stakes, a race staged over 1m at Flemington during the Melbourne Cup Carnival. We detail trainer and jockey achievements from previous renewals while highlighting statistical patterns that have emerged to influence the race's likely outcome.
Empire Rose Stakes Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends (Melbourne Cup Carnival)
Andy Powell
Andy Powell Expert Guide

You know how punters get lost in too much data or bet blindly? I break down the stats and trends so you can feel confident you’re betting with more than just gut instinct.

2026 Empire Rose Stakes Preview

Scheduled to take place in either late October or early November of each year at the Flemington racecourse is the Empire Rose Stakes, a race that features on the opening day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival, the Saturday before the Melbourne Cup takes place.

Created in 1988, this race was originally listed but was upgraded in 1995 to G3, then again in 1997 to G2, and finally, since 2004, has held G1 status. The race is open to fillies and mares aged three or older and is run over a 1,600m distance.

Empire Rose Stakes Information:

Why not use the trends shortlist below to help you narrow down the field and then head over to the dedicated Flemington tips page to see which runners are being supported by the OLBG expert racing tipsters to find yourself a bet? You may also be interested in other preview blogs that we have packed full of information. Head down to the Races Covered during the Melbourne Cup Carnival section for links to these.

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How competitive is the Empire Rose Stakes market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 10 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2017 when the race had an over-round of 113%. The race in 2025 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 120%, whilst on average over the last 10 renewals of the Empire Rose Stakes, the over-round has been 117%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £117 which is bet.

Below you will find the 2026 Empire Rose Stakes Trends. See which patterns have occurred over the recent renewals that you may be able to use for the next renewal. We also have a section that looks at the Empire Rose Stakes Trend Analysis.

These are the top three quickest-run Empire Rose Stakes races over the last 10 renewals:

  1. Pride Of Jenni (1:34.42) in 2025
  2. Colette (1:34.84) in 2021
  3. Shillelagh (1:34.86) in 2018

Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? Over the past 10 renewals, if you had followed the winner of the Empire Rose Stakes next time out, then you would have backed a total of 1 winner. Backing all 9 runners who have been out since their win at SP next time out would have returned an LSP of +4.00. Whilst we wait for the 2026 Empire Rose Stakes, remember you can get daily racing predictions from the expert tipsters on the racing predictions page.

When looking over the past 10 renewals, a time of 1:34.42 was set by Pride Of Jenni in 2025, trained by Ciaron Maher and ridden by Declan Bates, which is the quickest time over that period. The slowest winning time was set in 2022 when Icebath won in a time of 1:37.81 for trainer Brad Widdup, who booked Craig A Williams in the saddle.

What the expert says...
Not really a solid route into this race, five of the last ten did run at Caulfield before winning this, with a couple of those (2018 & 2023) running in the Toorak Handicap.

Andy Powell - Horse Racing Betting Expert - OLBG.com

Empire Rose Stakes Past Winners

Here are the Empire Rose Stakes' past winners for the last 10 renewals. Each row details the year of the race, the horse which won, along with the age & weight of the horse. Also detailed is the stall from which the horse came and the total number of runners in the race. The horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the Empire Rose Stakes are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.

YearHorse (Drawn)Info
2025
1:34.42
Pride Of Jenni (AUS)
8yo 9-0 (7 of 11) 19/5
Declan Bates
Ciaron Maher (AUS)
2024
1:35.93
Atishu (NZ)
7yo 9-0 (9 of 13) 13/5F
James McDonald
Chris Waller (AUS)
2023
1:34.86
Pride Of Jenni (AUS)
6yo 9-0 (16 of 16) 15/1
Declan Bates
Ciaron Maher & David Eustace (AUS)
2022
1:37.81
Icebath (NZ)
6yo 9-0 (3 of 16) 10/1
Craig A Williams
Brad Widdup (AUS)
2021
1:34.84
Colette (AUS)
5yo 9-0 (8 of 14) 12/1
Damien Oliver
James Cummings (AUS)
2020
1:35.37
Shout The Bar (AUS)
4yo 8-13 (11 of 13) 30/1
Damien Oliver
Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott (AUS)
2019
1:37.78
Melody Belle (NZ)
5yo 9-0 (13 of 16) 14/5F
Opie Bosson
Jamie Richards (NZ)
2018
1:34.86
Shillelagh (NZ)
7yo 9-0 (9 of 16) 11/2
James McDonald
Chris Waller (AUS)
2017
1:35.26
Shoals (AUS)
3yo 7-12 (10 of 16) 19/5F
Dean Yendall
Anthony Freedman (AUS)
2016
1:35.56
I Am A Star (NZ)
3yo 7-10 (10 of 15) 15/2
Dean Yendall
Shane Nichols (AUS)

Where have the winning runners come from?

Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Empire Rose Stakes have been based:

  • AUS: 9 winners with an additional 20 placings from 140 runners
  • NZ: 1 winner with an additional 0 placings from 5 runners
  • SIN: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 1 runner

2025 Empire Rose Stakes Replay


Empire Rose Stakes Trainer Statistics

The leading trainer in the Empire Rose Stakes over the last 10 renewals is Chris Waller, who has won the race two times, with those two winners coming from Shillelagh (2018) and Atishu (2024).

Here are some of the top Empire Rose Stakes trainer statistics over the last 10 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):

TrainerR-W-PWinEW
Chris Waller19-2-6-8.90-6.52
Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott5-1-1+26.00+14.00
James Cummings5-1-1+8.00+3.20
Ciaron Maher & David Eustace4-1-1+12.00+4.50
Shane Nichols3-1-1+5.50+2.50
Ciaron Maher3-1-2+1.80+6.78
Brad Widdup2-1-1+9.00+4.00
Jamie Richards2-1-1+1.80+0.40
Anthony Freedman1-1-1+3.80+1.90
Peter & Paul Snowden5-0-1-5.00-4.50

Empire Rose Stakes Jockey Statistics

There are multiple leading jockeys in the Empire Rose Stakes over the last 10 renewals, with James McDonald, Damien Oliver, Declan Bates, and Dean Yendall having all won the race two times. James McDonald winners have been with Shillelagh (2018) and Atishu (2024). Damien Oliver's winners have been with Shout The Bar (2020) and Colette (2021). Declan Bates winners have been with Pride Of Jenni (2023 & 2025). Dean Yendall winners have been with I Am A Star (2016) and Shoals (2017).

Here are some of the top Empire Rose Stakes jockey statistics over the last 10 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):

JockeyR-W-PWinEW
James McDonald6-2-3+4.10+0.81
Damien Oliver5-2-3+39.00+22.70
Declan Bates4-2-2+16.80+7.78
Dean Yendall4-2-3+9.30+5.90
Craig A Williams8-1-2+3.00-1.50
Opie Bosson2-1-1+1.80+0.40
Mark Zahra8-0-2-8.00-6.68
Damian Lane6-0-0-6.00-6.00
John Allen5-0-2-5.00+2.85
Hugh Bowman5-0-1-5.00-1.50

Empire Rose Stakes Trend Analysis

✅ The trend factor, which has produced 5+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +36.20, is when runners had a NZ-bred dam.

❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had 0 career places in the class, when backing these, the trend shows a record of 0-63.

Here are the most recent winning draws, along with the further placings in brackets:

  • 2025: Winner in 7 (3,2) [11 Runners]
  • 2024: Winner in 9 (2,13) [13 Runners]
  • 2023: Winner in 16 (8,14) [16 Runners]
  • 2022: Winner in 3 (15,4) [16 Runners]
  • 2021: Winner in 8 (3,12) [14 Runners]

The course which has produced the most winners of the Empire Rose Stakes is Caulfield; there have been a total of 5 winners of this race who ran at Caulfield last time out. The next best course, which has produced the second most winners, is Randwick; there have been a total of 3 winners of this race who ran at Randwick last time out.

Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Empire Rose Stakes:

  • Pride Of Dubai (2 Wins)
  • Savabeel (2 Wins)

Looking over the past renewals, there is only one stallion whose offspring have been disappointed with multiple attempts but no wins in the Empire Rose Stakes; that stallion is Sebring, who has failed to produce a winner from 6 runners.

Looking at the winning odds over the last 10 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Shout The Bar in 2020, winning for Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott at odds of 30/1 under the guidance of Damien Oliver. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 10 renewals, there have been 3 winning favourites in the race. Before placing your bet on the 2026 Empire Rose Stakes, head over to see which runners the best racing tipsters are tipping today. All figures and trends above, such as the horse's previous runs, are based on the information that is available on the Racing Post.

Route to the Empire Rose Stakes

Many trainers target races as preparation for the Empire Rose Stakes. These are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:

InfoLast Race
2025 - Pride Of Jenni
Randwick - 7th of 12 (9/2)
King Charles III Stakes
2024 - Atishu
Caulfield - 3rd of 8 (3/1)
Sportsbet Might And Power
2023 - Pride Of Jenni
Caulfield - 6th of 16 (13/1)
Hyland Race Colours Toorak Handicap
2022 - Icebath
Randwick - 9th of 12 (4/1)
The Invitation
2021 - Colette
Caulfield - 1st of 7 (49/20)
Lexus Tristarc Stakes
2020 - Shout The Bar
Randwick - 11th of 14 (15/1)
Bentley Angst Stakes
2019 - Melody Belle
Hastings - 1st of 13 (3/10)
Livamol
2018 - Shillelagh
Caulfield - 4th of 18 (7/1)
Aquis Toorak Handicap
2017 - Shoals
Caulfield - 2nd of 8 (22/5)
Schweppes Thousand Guineas
2016 - I Am A Star
Moonee Valley - 3rd of 12 (5/2)
P.W. Glass Fillies

Races Covered during the Melbourne Cup Carnival

Here are the other races that take place at the Flemington Racetrack during the Melbourne Cup Carnival that we also cover with blogs.

RaceLast WinnerInfo
Coolmore Stud StakesTentyris (AUS)
3yo - 19/10
Anthony & Sam Freedman
Mark Zahra
Empire Rose StakesPride Of Jenni (AUS)
8yo - 19/5
Ciaron Maher
Declan Bates
Victoria DerbyObserver (AUS)
3yo - 29/20
Ciaron Maher
Mark Zahra
Melbourne CupKnights Choice (AUS)
5yo - 90/1
John Symons & Sheila Laxon
Robbie Dolan
Crown OaksTreasurethe Moment (AUS)
3yo - 21/10
Matt Laurie
Damian Lane
VRC Champions MileMr Brightside (NZ)
7yo - 4/1
Ben, Will & JD Hayes
Craig A Williams
VRC Champions SprintSunshine In Paris (AUS)
5yo - 4/1
Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald
James McDonald
VRC Champions StakesVia Sistina (IRE)
6yo - 3/5
Chris Waller
James McDonald

Article Contributor Information

We are fortunate to have an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to the creation and maintenance of this Empire Rose Stakes Preview are Andy and James. They both work on the Horse racing tips team, looking after the tipsters and managing the tips settlement, whilst also creating and managing all of the horse racing event previews for International racing.

James Banting

James Banting

Expert Guide

James Banting, a passionate horse racing enthusiast and aficionado, brings a wealth of experience to OLBG, having attended numerous race meetings over the years. His background working with the Jockey Association provides him with a unique insider's perspective on the industry.
Andy Powell

Andy Powell

Expert Guide

Andy, a seasoned horse racing analyst with over 15 years of experience, delves into the intricacies of international horse racing, meticulously analyzing complex statistical data to uncover hidden trends. He spearheads the creation and management of OLBG's international horse racing trend blogs, providing valuable insights for bettors worldwide.

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