Gun Godolphin-raced mare Alizee is tipped to return to winning form second-up on Saturday leading the all-in Apollo Stakes 2020 odds on the nominated gallopers for the Randwick clash.

Racing NSW received 14 early entries for this season’s Group 2 $250,000 Apollo Stakes (1400m), a race dominated in recent years by the trio of wins by the world’s best mare Winx (2016, 2017, 2019).

With Winx now in the breeding barn the weight-for-age feature has been opened up and the bookies are tipping five-year-old Alizee as the one to beat in 2020.

The daughter of Sepoy is just shy of $3 million in prize money thanks to an outstanding career to date highlighted by three Group 1 wins.

She hasn’t won since her first-up success in the Group 2 Missile Stakes (1200m) in August last year however so is out to break a notable winning drought this weekend.

First-up Alizee ran one and a half lengths second as the beaten odds-on favourite behind speedy three-year-old Standout in the Group 2 Expressway Stakes (1200m).

Second-up, fitter for the run and getting up to 1400m she now leads the pre-field Apollo Stakes odds at $3.20 through Ladbrokes.com.au.

It is a bunched top-half of the market following Alizee with three other Apollo Stakes nominees all equal at $5 on the second line of betting.

John Thompson’s 1400m specialist Dreamforce (10:6-2-1), veteran nine-year-old Happy Clapper and Chris Waller’s Group 1 winning mare Verry Elleegant are tipped the dangers.

Happy Clapper has finished top three in an incredible 12 Group 1 races over his career including three victories at elite level.

Proving his evergreen status in the spring the Patrick Webster-trained son of Teofilo beat a quality field in the Group 3 $500,000 Craven Plate (2000m) on the back of a third to Avilius in the Group 1 George Main Stakes (1600m).

Webster remains hopeful Happy Clapper can continue to race well this season, which could be his last before a well-deserved retirement, and his hoping the heavy rainfall begins to clear before race day.

“He will run,” Webster told AAP.

“I’m not keen on him having a hard run first-up in the wet but he has to start in the Apollo because it fits in with his program going ahead to the Chipping Norton.

“He is fit and well and his two trials have been good so I think he’s ready to go.”

Waller meanwhile chases his fifth straight win in the Apollo Stakes having won the three with Winx along with the 2018 success of Endless Drama when the mighty mare missed the first-up run due to the unavailability of her regular rider Hugh Bowman.

This year Waller has four Apollo Stakes entries led by Verry Elleegant, the Zed four-year-old racing for the first time since her 12^th to Lys Gracieux in the Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m) last October.

Click here for the latest all-in Apollo Stakes 2020 odds courtesy of Ladbrokes.com.au ahead of Wednesday’s final acceptances.

2020 Apollo Stakes Nominations

#	Form (Last 10)	Horse	Sex	Age	Trainer	Ballot	Weight	Hcp. Rating
1	x2284x231x	HAPPY CLAPPER	G	9	Patrick Webster	1	59kg	118
2	306x1374x2	ALIZEE	M	5	James Cummings	2	57kg	115
3	8132x1205x	DREAMFORCE	G	7	John Thompson	3	59kg	113
4	2111x9410x	VERRY ELLEEGANT (NZ)	M	4	Chris Waller	4	57kg	111
5	211112617x	COME PLAY WITH ME	G	5	Chris Waller	5	59kg	109
6	124x03374x	LIFE LESS ORDINARY (IRE)	G	8	Chris Waller	6	59kg	108
7	5237x5955x	DANZDANZDANCE	M	5	Chris Waller	7	57kg	107
8	x16621816x	HUSH WRITER (JPN)	G	5	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	8	59kg	105
9	511x65800x	ANGEL OF TRUTH	G	4	Gwenda Markwell	9	59kg	101
10	44×6012325	GLENALL	G	6	Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes	10	59kg	100
11	2x85403x71	CRADLE MOUNTAIN	G	6	Clare Cunningham	11	59kg	98
12	x322x2311x	MASTER OF WINE (GER)	G	5	Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes	12	59kg	96
13	11125x5x6	VEGADAZE	G	4	Anthony Cummings	13	59kg	89
14	23x22122x	BRANDENBURG (NZ)	C	3	John Sargent	14	55.5kg	81