Pheidon is favourite for Saturday's Queensland Derby lead-up - the Rough Habit Plate 2014. Photo: Steve Hart.

Gai Waterhouse’s Queensland Derby hope Pheidon heads the markets for Saturday’s 2014 Rough Habit Plate at Doomben Racecourse.

A race that produced last year’s Queensland Derby winner with Hawkspur claiming the double for Chris Waller, this season’s $125,000 Group 3 Mittys Rough Habit Plate (2000m) runs as Race 6 and features a final field of 14 three-year-olds.

Favourite of those in the Rough Habit Plate odds paying $3.50 to win is the rails-drawn Pheidon.

Due to be ridden by Nash Rawiller who replaces Tommy Berry, Al Maher gelding Pheidon comes into Saturday’s showdown on the back of three good Group runs over the same distance.

The first was at Moonee Valley where they won the Group 2 Alister Clark Stakes by a tidy two lengths.

Then they went to Sydney for a luckless sixth in the Group 2 Tulloch Stakes, improving with a clearer run in the Group 3 Frank Packer Plate at Randwick on April 26 where they finished second to Arabian Gold.

Pheidon had the inside alley that day, and Waterhouse is hoping they can go one better from the same barrier for their Brisbane debut here ahead of a possible run in Stradbroke Handicap Day’s Group 1 Queensland Derby (2400m) on June 7.

Following Pheidon in the Rough Habit Plate odds at $4.20 is then in-form New Zealand raider Telepathic paying $4.20 for their Australian debut.

Nominated for both the 2014 Queensland Derby as well as the Oaks the weekend before, Donna & Dean Logan’s Mossman filly has won three of their six starts to date including their past two on the trot in April.

Last time out they defeated Glorious Lad in the Governor General’s Cup (1600m) where they were blocked for a run but still beat the boys earning this trip across the Tasman where they’ll be tested over further for the first time.

The next best in betting at $6 is then the Governor General’s Cup runner-up Glorious Lad who also debuts down under here and has Derby ambitions next month.

The Shaune Ritchie-trained gelding though is already tested at Group 1 level unlike many of their rivals on the weekend having run a nice third to Puccini and Rising Romance, who franked the form with her Group 1 Australian Oaks win in the autumn, in the NZ Derby two back.

Rounding out the single figure Rough Habit fancies are then the Gold Coast-trained Red Dazzler gelding Rudy ($8) coming via a third in the Group 3 Gunsynd Classic at Eagle Farm and Commands three-year-old Vilanova ($9) representing last year’s winning trainer Waller.

The full fixed win Rough Habit Plate 2014 odds are listed in the table below complete with links you can follow to bet right away online at Ladbrokes.com.au who guarantee the hottest odds with their Best Tote or SP markets!

2014 Rough Habit Plate Odds