Empire Rose (1982–2002) was one of the most popular

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than fo ...

s to race in New Zealand and Australia. She was a gigantic chestnut, only just fitting into the barrier stalls in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. Trained by Laurie Laxon, one of New Zealand's foremost trainers, at the Laurie Laxon Racing Stables at Cambridge, New Zealand, Empire Rose raced 48 times for nine wins and eight placings for NZ$2,644,234 ( A$1.95 million).Empire Rose's racing career
/ref> Among her major successes were the 1987

New Zealand Cup The New Zealand Cup is a thoroughbred horse race run at the Riccarton Park Racecourse in Christchurch. New Zealand Cup week The New Zealand Cup is raced on the final Saturday of Christchurch "Cup week" held each year in the second week of Novem ...

, the 1988

LKS Mackinnon Stakes The VRC Champions Stakes, registered as the ''LKS Mackinnon Stakes'', is a Victoria Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race run under Weight for Age conditions over a distance of 2000 metres at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Australia on ...

, the 1988

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Melb ...

and the 1989

Trentham Stakes The Trentham Stakes is a Group 3 weight-for-age race held for thoroughbred racehorses at Trentham Racecourse near Wellington, New Zealand conducted by the Wellington Racing Club. Held over 2100 metres in January, it is seen as the main lead-up ...

. Empire Rose was by the champion New Zealand sire,

Sir Tristram Sir Tristram (IRE) (7 April 1971 – 21 May 1997) was an Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who stood at stud in New Zealand, where he sired an extraordinary 45 Group One winners, including three Melbourne Cup winners. His progeny earned him ...

(IRE), from Summer Fleur by Sovereign Edition (IRE), and was expected to perform well like other Sir Tristram progeny. In 1986 she showed promise when fifth in the

behind At Talaq. In 1987 she was second to the fellow New Zealand bred Kensei in a bumpy finish to the

and eleven days later she won the 3200m

at Riccarton. In 1988, Empire Rose won the

Mackinnon Stakes The VRC Champions Stakes, registered as the ''LKS Mackinnon Stakes'', is a Victoria Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race run under Weight for Age conditions over a distance of 2000 metres at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Australia on ...

on Saturday 29 October, then made her third attempt at the "two-miler" on the following Tuesday, November the 1st. Young rider Tony Allan had the mare handily placed all the way and she led the big field around the home turn. Despite a flashing finish from Natski, Empire Rose refused to give in, winning by a short head on the line. Natski's rump was actually ahead of hers, highlighting her large size. She was given a rousing reception for her win, given it was the first time a mare had won the race in 23 years - the last being the New Zealander

Light Fingers Light Fingers (1961−1988) was a New Zealand bred thoroughbred racehorse who won the Melbourne Cup in 1965. In 2017 Light Fingers was inducted to the Australian Racing Hall of Fame. Background The lightly built chestnut was by the highly succe ...

. In 1989 Empire Rose won the

. Later that year as a seven-year-old, Empire Rose finished 3rd in the

Cox Plate The W. S. Cox Plate is a Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three years old and over under Weight for age conditions, over a distance of 2040 metres (approximately 1m 2f), that is held by the Moonee Valley Racing Club at Moo ...

behind Almaarad and Stylish Century followed by a 5th in the

behind

Horlicks Horlicks is a sweet malted milk hot drink powder developed by founders James and William Horlick. It was first sold as "Horlick's Infant and Invalids Food", soon adding "aged and travellers" to their label. In the early 20th century, it was s ...

. She then started favourite but struggled to 15th in the

won by Tawrrific, and was retired to stud. On 12 March 2002 Empire Rose was euthanized at her birthplace and home, Whakanui Stud, in Hamilton, New Zealand, due to deteriorating health and an incurable foot problem. During her racing career, Empire Rose was often ridden in training work by Sheila Laxon, the then wife of trainer Laurie Laxon.Sheila Laxon profile
/ref> Sheila Laxon went on to become a successful licensed trainer in her own right, training

Ethereal Ethereal may refer to: * Ethereal (horse), a horse that won Australia's Caulfield Cup as well as Melbourne Cup in 2001 *Ethereal wave, or simply ethereal, a subgenre of dark wave music *Wireshark, formerly named Ethereal, a free and open-source pac ...

to win the 2001 Caulfield Cup-Melbourne Cup double.

References

{{reflist

External links

Empire Rose's pedigree and partial racing stats
1982 racehorse births 2002 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in New Zealand Racehorses trained in New Zealand Melbourne Cup winners New Zealand Cup winners Thoroughbred family 8

See also

References

External links