Stakes-winning fillies face males in Golden Rose Stakes
The stakes-winning fillies Omei Sword and Yankee Rose face 11 males in Saturday’s Group 1 Golden Rose Stakes for 3-year-olds at seven furlongs on turf at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse near Sydney, Australia.
Omei Sword, the winner of the Group 2 Silver Shadow Stakes at Randwick Racecourse on Aug. 20, was the future-book favorite at 5-2 in midweek for the Golden Rose Stakes, which has an approximate purse of $767,200. Trained by Chris Waller, Omei Sword, by High Chaparral, has won 2 of 4 starts. The Silver Shadow Stakes at six furlongs was her first stakes win.
Yankee Rose, by All American, has won 3 of 4 starts, including the Group 1 Sires Produce Stakes in April. She was second in the Group 1 Golden Slipper Stakes in March.
The race drew 14, including one other filly in O’Reilly Cyrus. The list of males is led by Astern, a colt by Medaglia d’Oro who has won 4 of 5 starts for Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin Racing. Astern won the Group 2 Run to the Rose Stakes at Rosehill on Aug. 27 in his first start since April.
Black Heart Bart will be a strong favorite to win his second consecutive Group 1 race in Saturday’s $384,000 Makybe Diva Stakes for milers at Flemington Racecourse near Melbourne.
A 6-year-old gelding, Black Heart Bart won the Group 1 Memsie Stakes at Caulfield Racecourse on Aug. 27. The Memsie was the first Group 1 race of the 2016-17 Australian season. Trained by Darren Weir, Black Hart Bart will be ridden by Damien Oliver. He replaces Brad Rawiller, who is suspended for a recent incident of careless riding.
Two other notable runners in the Makybe Diva are Rising Romance, second in the Memsie, and Palentino, who was fifth in the Memsie and the winner of the Group 1 Australian Guineas last March.