The staying feature of Rosehill Guineas Day on Saturday will be the Epona Stakes 2012 for fillies and mares, a race that looks to be a wide open affair this year with five of the hopefuls fighting it out for top spot in the markets.

Foxstar is early favourite to win the 2012 Epona Stakes at Rosehill this Saturday

Set to run as Rosehill Race 5 at 2:50pm (NSW time) the $125,000 Group 3 De Bortoli Wines Epona Stakes (1900m) field features a full 14 starters plus an emergency, and the bookies and punters are having a hard time separating the top five.

Narrowly installed at the top of the Epona Stakes odds at bookmaker.com.au is the Guy Walter-trained Foxstar paying $4.50 despite her wide barrier 12 draw.

The Galileo five-year-old has winning form up to 1700-metres and will appreciate coming back to this class and up to this distance after her last-start seventh finishing three and a half lengths off the winner in the Group 1 Coolmore Classic (1500m) last Saturday.

The other single-figure chances in the Epona Stakes betting markets are then:

• #5 Crafty Irna ($5 bookmaker.com.au) – Ron Quinton’s Starcraft four-year-old has caught the eye in both of their 2012 starts firstly running second to Red Tracer in the Group 3 Millie Fox Stakes (1300m) then third to Fribrillation in the Listed Aspiration Quality (1600m) last start, will appreciate the distance
• #3 Vintedge ($5.50 bookmaker.com.au) – Chris Waller-trained Flying Spur six-year-old won the Group 2 Matriarch Stakes over 2000m last Emirates Stakes Day at Flemington, hasn’t done much this time in and will need to improve on their last-start eighth over this track and distance
• #12 Brightest ($6 bookmaker.com.au) – Walter’s other runner comes off an Aspiration Qlty seventh and should improve over the extra 300-metres as they ran a good second over 2110m last July in their only start over a mile, would like it wet
• #8 Fibrillation ($7.50 bookmaker.com.au) – Aspiration Quality winner first-up over the Randwick mile, nice grey that could challenge if they recapture their best form, won over 1800m at Rosehill last May so track and distance should suit

Punters looking for a value pick in the Epona Stakes field and markets may also be tempted to look at the odds on last-start Canberra Cup winner Fill The Page ($15 bookmaker.com.au) or defending Epona Stakes winner Galizani ($21 bookmaker.com.au).

Full markets and betting options on all nine of the Rosehill Guineas Day races this Saturday can now be found at our preferred online bookmaker – bookmaker.com.au – home of Quickbet technology!

2012 Epona Stakes Odds

Rosehill Race 5 – 2:50pm – 31/03/2012

*Fixed Win Odds provided by bookmaker.com.au and subject to change