The Grant and Alana Williams trained Western Empire, who hasn’t missed a beat since resuming in the Group 3 Belmont Sprint two runs ago, gets the chance to complete a hat trick of feature race wins when he steps out in the Group 3 Strickland Stakes over 2000m at Belmont on Saturday.
In the Belmont Sprint the eight-year-old son of Iffraaj proved too strong in a competitive lineup which getting the better of the more-than-useful duo of Rope Me In and Smooth Chino, who had to settle for second and third place respectively.
That win aptly reflected Western Empire’s class and, while his follow-up win, second-up in the Group 3 Hyperion Stakes over 1600m (a race he won for the second year in-a-row) once again franked that attribute, it also put both Western Empire and jockey Willie Pike’s unrelenting appetite for victory in solid perspective as they gunned down the $41 bolter Hoba West in the final strides to snare win number thirteen for Western Empire.
There is no question that Western Empire, who will strip fitter with the benefit of those two runs, will again be the horse to beat.
It should be noted though that Western Empire will be adding 400m onto the Hyperion Stakes distance when he tackles the Strickland Stakes on Saturday, the first time he has stretched out that far since he did so in the 2025 edition of the Strickland … and the time before that was also in the Strickland Stakes of 2024 a full year earlier.
Western Empire did not win either of those races.
Much earlier in his career (in 2021) Western Empire did win over both 2200m (in the Listed Melvista) and over 2400m (in the Group 2 WATC Derby) … suggesting that a 2000m trip would not be a problem, but the fact that Western Empire has only been kept to shorter distances … barring those two runs in the Strickland … for twenty-seven runs since the WATC Derby, does puts a small element of doubt behind this latest distance test as he tries to make it third time lucky in the Strickland.
Western Empire’s class could override that and wipe out any concerns though … and the fact the Williams trained runner meets all of his nine runners at level weights is more in his favour than his opponents.
In fact, with Western Empire the clearcut favourite at $1.80, the betting suggests he has only one horse to beat, the self-same Hoba West ($4), who forced Pike to put Western Empire into overdrive when they clashed last time out, also at level weights.
Austin Galati again takes the ride on the Summer Dickson trained son of Epaulette, who has won up to 1800m and who caught the eye when finishing second to Apulia over 2100m in the Group 2 Van Heemst back in December.
The Ben, Will and JD Hayes trained Apulia franked that form by winning the Group 2 Perth Cup over 2400m in his next start … and has gone on to run third in the $2 million Group 1 Australian Cup behind Light Infantry Man and Pride Of Jenni at Flemington in March.
No other runner in the Strickland is quoted at odds under $10 with online bookmakers.
