“Ready to peak in a G1”: Waller mare at a nice price for Flemington assignment

There is a mare who is expected to run on the first day of the Flemington Carnival and is currently at very nice odds for a Group 1 race.

The galloper’s name is Atishu and she will likely head to the Empire Rose (1600m) on November 2 where she was priced at $11 by Bet365, but is now sitting at $7.50.

SENTrack’s Gareth Hall loved the run of Atishu in the Might And Power at Caulfield on the weekend where she settled back in the eight-horse field before finishing off nicely for third behind Deny Knowledge and Mr Brightside.

“I’ve got a horse for the Empire Rose - Atishu at $11 (now into $7.50),” Hall said on SENTrack’s Giddy Up.

“I thought her run was enormous. She went better than Alsephina who is at $9, I think she’s a better horse than Alsephina.

“You’re getting $11 for her and that’s the way (to the Empire Rose) she’s going to go.”

Form analyst Pete Anthonisz concurs with that assessment.

He points to trainer Chris Waller’s strategy to step Atishu up in distance before dropping her back, which was the case last preparation when she ran third in the Australian Cup (2000m) before narrowly missing the Group 1 Queen of the Turf at the mile the following start.

He feels she will peak in this year’s Empire Rose on Derby Day after running second to Pride Of Jenni in the same race last year.

“Yeah, completely agree,” said Anthonisz.

“I loved her last 200m. Everything just points to her being ready to peak in a Group 1 next start.

“Dropping back in distance as well, we saw that last preparation where she went from the Australian Cup to the Queen of the Turf and was really only just nailed by Zougotcha by the barest of margins.

“We’ve seen Chris Waller do that a number of times, go up to the 2000m and then drop back to a mile. She has the Champions Stakes (as an option) as well.

“She’s a very good mare and she’s on track.”

Chris Waller says Atishu will run in the Empire Rose and then back up in the Champions Stakes a week later.

Atishu is a two-time Group 1 winner, claiming the 2023 Champion (Mackinnon) Stakes (2000m) at Flemington and the 2023 Queen of the Turf (1600m) at Randwick.

At time of publishing, Atishu was $11 for the Empire Rose with Bet365. She has since been tightened into $7.50.

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