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Boom filly Apocalyptic continued her fast rise through the grades saluting as the odds-on favourite in the 2025 Flight Stakes results to post a Group 1 win at just her fourth start and firm into the outright top elect for the upcoming Thousand Guineas in Melbourne.

Leaving trainer Michael Freedman “lost for words”, the brilliant young daughter of Extreme Choice was enormous stepping up to a mile for the first time in Saturday’s Group 1 $750,000 Flight Stakes (1600m) at Randwick to make it a hat-trick this Princess Series.

Coming off back-to-back wins in the Group 2 Furious and Tea Rose Stakes, she never looked in doubt blowing her rivals away off another excellent Tommy Berry ride.

“What a filly, just saying before for a filly having a fourth lifetime start, and she’s won two Group 2s and a Group 1. I’m a bit lost for words,” Freedman told Sky Thoroughbred Central.

“You know, as any trainer would attest, you know, you spend a lot of time getting up early and trying to find good horses to train. And when these sort of ones come along, they certainly make it easier to get out of bed in the morning.

“As I said after she won the Furious, I thought she was our sort of number one seed for the Slipper, but I’ve got no doubt now whatsoever that it was a blessing to be in a position where we had to stop. And I think just giving her that extra time and allowing her to mature physically and mentally was a big, big plus.”

Berry was patient aboard the heavily supported favourite tracking the front running 80/1 roughie Reflect around the home turn before unleashing 200m out from the line.

Apocalyptic answered passing her elite level test with aplomb, racing away from the field without breaking a sweat to hit the line 1.18 lengths clear of Within The Law with Chris Waller‘s 25/1 roughie Karinska running well for third.

“We discussed before and I said look, I know we were three wide without cover the other day in the Tea Rose, but I said it’s a bit different over the mile,” Freedman said when discussing riding tactics for today’s event.

“So, I said just at all costs avoid being three wide and I could see early in the race that’s probably how it was gonna be, so I could see him (Berry) pushing forward, making sure that that wasn’t the case.

“When she relaxed and came back off that leader and was just going at a nice rhythm, I thought okay, well, if you’re as good as I think you are, you should be a good watch.”

The future looks very bright for the filly race caller Darren Flindell described as “a weapon, a weapon of mass destruction”.

Next on the cards will likely be another Group 1 mile test in either the $1.5 million Thousand Guineas at Caulfield on Cup Day, October 18, or the $1 million Empire Rose Stakes against the older mares at Flemington on Derby Day with Shoals (2017) the last filly to salute in that event.

“I’m not sure at the moment, I think we just get her home, see how she pulls up. Obviously, the Thousand Guineas in Melbourne is a possibility. The Empire Rose at Flemington on Derby Day is another possibility, or going to the paddock,” Freedman said.

“She’s done such an amazing job in a short space of. I’d just like to spend a few days with her and see how she comes through it and work it from there.

“Look, with this stallion, I mean, he’s sired a Melbourne Cup winner (in Knight’s Choice, 2024), so who knows? She’s out of a Medaglia d’Oro mare, I don’t know; it’d be hard to say.

“She could, whether she needs to or whether you want to, is another thing, but I think she’s so versatile.

“Who knows, maybe something over a bit further later on.”

Apocalyptic has firmed in from $7 to $2.50 to sit top of the all-in 2025 Thousand Guineas odds at Ladbrokes.com.au, and is now at $8 for the Empire Rose Stakes where Treasurethe Moment is the $3 top fancy.

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