This Saturday’s Flemington feature is named after one of our foremost female horses, but the Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) remains a minefield for backers of mares.

Makybe Diva never raced in the Craiglee, as it was then called. If she had, it might have had more than one female winner in the past 29 years.

What’s more, no female trainer has won the Makybe Diva. And only one female jockey has done so — the then Jamie Kah, on Gatting ($101) in 2019.

To explain the mares’ lack of success, you could point to the presence on the same card of the mares-only Let’s Elope Stakes at set weights and penalties over 200 metres less.

Indeed, in four of the past 19 years the Makybe Diva has gone mareless.

Even so, since Saleous took the 1996 Craiglee there have been 49 mares tackle the race for one winner (Southern Speed in 2012), seven seconds, four thirds and 37 unplaced.

Despite this record, punters in 2024 sent out Via Sistina a $2.60 favourite, with Pride Of Jenni at $5 and Atishu at $11. They ran fifth, second and sixth respectively.

The favourite’s flop was variously put down to second-up syndrome, a heavy 9 track and the notion that she’d had too soft a win first up.

So the punters buttered up last year with Via Sistina at $1.80 and Aeliana equal second pick at $5.

In a field of six, the mares ran third and second as Mr Brightside completed the first hat-trick in the history of the race. This time, a farcical pace was blamed.

Via Sistina is now retired but Aeliana will be there on Saturday and so will the new boom mare Sheza Alibi, who may start shorter than $1.80.

This time for sure?