The Rob Heathcote-trained Brisbane raider Startantes is narrow favourite in a wide-open Flight Stakes 2021 betting market this weekend in Sydney on the quick back-up.

Tea Rose Stakes winner Four Moves Ahead backs-up in the 2021 Flight Stakes over the mile on Saturday in Sydney. Photo: Steve Hart.

A field of 16 three-year-old fillies face off over the Randwick mile in the Group 1 $750,000 Darley Flight Stakes (1600m) this Epsom Handicap Day and it is a top first-half of the market.

Narrow favourite at $4 in the Flight Stakes odds at Ladbrokes.com.au is Star Turn filly Startantes, a winner of five of her nine starts to date.

Not among the original nominations, she was a late entry for connections following an eye-catching sixth at big odds behind In The Congo in last Saturday’s Group 1 Golden Rose Stakes (1400m).

Fit and ready to fire from barrier six with Sam Clipperton coming aboard for the ride, there’s plenty of money coming in for the fast-finishing filly who is tipped to relish a step up to 1600m here.

Two other in-form fillies follow closely in the Flight Stakes markets with Mallory ($5) and Four Moves Ahead ($4.80) drawn opposite ends of the field in gates five and 13 respectively.

The Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou-trained Mallory is fourth-up with Hugh Bowman riding, the hoop chasing his sixth Flight Stakes winning ride.

Bowman’s five previous victories came aboard: Cheeky Choice (2006), Samantha Miss (2008), Streama (2011), Norzita (2012) and Montefilia (2020) last Sydney Spring Racing Carnival.

He looks to be on a genuine hope again this season with Not A Single Doubt filly Mallory improving with each run in the Princess Series including her devastatingly close second in the Group 2 Tea Rose Stakes (1400m) last time out.

Her narrow conqueror in the Tea Rose, the John Sargent-trained Four Moves Ahead also backs-up in the Group 1 this weekend looking to do the double most recently achieved by Funstar (2019).

She has work to do from the wide draw however but remains a genuine contender with proven form on Soft going should the track downgrade.

Rounding out the single-figure hopes at a more generous $8 is the Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott-trained Swift Witness, winner of the Group 2 Silver Shadow Stakes (1200m) first-up back in August.

Since then she has run sixth in the Furious Stakes and third in the Tea Rose Stakes, only beaten a culminative two lengths across both traces.

Co-trainer Waterhouse boasts a record nine Flight Stakes victories most recently with Global Glamour (2016) who she prepared in partnership with Bott.

Along with Swift Witness she chases an incredible 10^th success roughie hope Never Been Kissed ($34).

The other notable hopefuls include tipped improver She’s All Class ($11) for Chris Waller and her last start winning stablemate at Goulburn Fangirl ($14).

Click here for the latest Flight Stakes 2021 betting markets courtesy of Ladbrokes.com.au.

2021 Flight Stakes Field & Barriers

Table Credit: Racing Australia.