Emerging filly Mareth will face an autumn carnival litmus test when she takes on the older mares in the Millie Fox Stakes at Rosehill.
The three-year-old has raced just five times, breaking her maiden at Canterbury in December before beating all but boom filly Caffe Florian in the Listed Gosford Guineas (1200m).
Trainer Michael Freedman has raised the bar again for her first-up assignment where she will not only take on seasoned campaigners Lazzura, Oh Diamond Lil and in-form stablemate Cinsault, but step out to 1300m for the first time.
Zac Lloyd reunites with Mareth after riding her at Gosford and says she is a straightforward three-year-old with plenty of upside.
“She is a very nice filly. A pleasure to ride, and she does everything right,” Lloyd said.
“She has obviously made her way through the grades quite quickly.
“She was unlucky not to win the Gosford Guineas. Her performance was very good, we just bumped into a very smart horse.
“We will get a good guide on her level at the moment after Saturday.”
Lazzura is a clear-cut $2.50 favourite to give Chris Waller his eighth win in the Millie Fox Stakes (1300m) and third in succession following the victories by Firestorm (2025) and Zougotcha (2024).
Waller will also start Pinito ($12), who hasn’t raced since finishing runner-up in the Queensland Oaks (2200m) in June and is making her stable debut after formerly being trained by James Cummings.
Pinito is one of three Godolphin runners in the fillies and mares’ feature, along with Mareth ($10) and Cinsault ($6.50).
