Atishu gets redemption in Empire Rose
Go Racing’s superb mare Atishu was the brilliant winner of the A$1 million Gr.1 Empire Rose Stakes (1600m) at Flemington on Saturday, a race she came desperately close to winning last year.
In last year’s edition of the race, she came from over 12 lengths off the leader and posted the fastest last 800m, 600m and 200m to get within a length of subsequent Australian Horse of the Year Pride of Jenni.
This year she jumped on terms and was ridden with plenty of patience early as they went at a genuine speed. Coming into the bend she had given the leaders a big start but once her jockey James McDonald asked for an effort she produced an electric turn of foot and despite a determined fightback from a brave Amelia’s Jewel, Atishu snatched the victory by a head.
“What a mare she is,” McDonald said. “She never fails to deliver; she runs her best all the time. She was beaten at the 100 metres and she found enough to win.
“I’m so proud of her, she’s just such a talented mare and she keeps delivering.”
Also bursting with pride for their courageous mare were Go Racing’s Albert Bosma and Matt Allnutt, for whom the win also vindicated a decision to withdraw her from the Magic Millions Broodmare Sale earlier this year.
“For me she’s just a very, very special mare,” said Bosma. “To be able to remain at the top as a seven-year-old and to put in a performance like that it just makes you quite emotional.
“It’s a great credit to the owners that decided to have another year with her and to race on and I still think we have much to look forward to. It would be nice to see her go and defend her title in the Champions Stakes next week.”
“She’s just such a tough mare,” added Allnutt. “She had every reason to lose today she got carted off the track but was just very tough.
“James McDonald said she was out on her feet with a hundred metres to go but she found it in herself to keep fighting and put her head down at the right time. It was super win.”
Atishu has now had 46 starts for 11 wins, 15 placings and has earned $5.5 million in stakes. This was her third Group One victory, having previously won the Queen Of The Turf Stakes (1600m) and the Champions Stakes (2000m) on the final day of last year’s Melbourne Cup Carnival.
Flemington has been a particularly happy hunting ground for Atishu, with nine starts at the famous Melbourne track for victories in the Empire Rose, the Champions Stakes, the Gr.2 Blamey Stakes (1600m) and the Gr.2 Matriarch Stakes (2000m).
Atishu has become a mainstay of trainer Chris Waller’s stable in the three years since Go Racing transferred her across the Tasman. She had previously recorded multiple stakes wins in New Zealand as a three-year-old for Cambridge trainer Stephen Marsh.
“She’s a beautiful mare and she was brilliant today” Waller said. “She’s been here a long time, and horses like her are so special. When they’ve been with you that long, they’re certainly a big part of the team.
“She had to give away a lot at the start today, but she was brave and has a terrific will to win, particularly at Flemington, and slowly and surely, she ran down a really talented horse.
“It is another Group One where she has made us all proud.”
Waller will strongly consider backing Atishu up for a defence of her title in the Champions Stakes next Saturday, where her opposition will include her Cox Plate-winning stablemate Via Sistina.
“There’s a pretty good chance she’ll be back next week,” Waller said. “She’ll have some good opposition there, but she won’t be worried about them. She’ll be saying ‘look out for me’.”
Bred by Waikato Stud, Atishu is by their champion sire Savabeel out of the No Excuse Needed mare Posy, who won two races and is a sister to the former Champion Three-Year-Old and multiple Group One winner Daffodil. - Additional reporting, NZ Racing Desk