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The Epona Stakes is a Group 3 race for fillies and mares held at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse on Golden Slipper Day in March.

Golden Slipper Day is one of the highlights of the Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival and features five Group 1 races with the running of the Golden Slipper Stakes, Ranvet Stakes, The Galaxy, George Ryder Stakes and Rosehill Guineas. There are also a number of key support acts on the card that hold Group status including the Epona Stakes.

Run under set weights plus penalties conditions the Epona Stakes is contested over 1900m by female stayers and offers $200,000 in prize money. Fillies and mares may come into the Epona Stakes field via a number of lead-ups including a tougher run in the Group 1 Coolmore Classic (1500m) the weekend before or the Group 3 Aspiration Quality (1600m) at the start of the month.

In 2018 the Epona Stakes winner The Pinnacle improved on a lead-up second in the Aspiration Quality, while in 2023 Gin Martini ran sixth in the Aspiration Quality before her upset Epona Stakes victory.

Possible later autumn targets for Epona Stakes graduates including the Group 1 Doncaster Mile (1600m) and the Group 1 Queen Of The Turf Stakes (1600m). In 2016 Heavens Above ran second in both the Epona Stakes and Queen Of The Turf Stakes.

Mares looking for longer distance targets may contest the Group 2 Chairman’s Handicap (2600m) at Royal Randwick on Day 1 of ‘The Championships’ or even the following weekend’s Group 1 Sydney Cup (3200m).

In 2021 the Epona Stakes third placed She’s Ideel franked the form running second next-up in the Group 1 Tancred Stakes (2400m) before a fourth in that autumn’s Sydney Cup results.

The 2022 Epona Stakes form was franked with the runner-up Nerve Not Verve winning the Group 2 Chairman’s Stakes next-up that April.

The Epona Stakes 2023 ran at Rosehill Racecourse on Saturday March 18, 2023 as part of Golden Slipper Day card in Sydney and was won narrowly by the John Sargent-trained Gin Martini ($9.50). 

2023 Epona Stakes
Date:	Saturday March 18, 2023
Track:	Rosehill Racecourse
Distance:	1900m
Race Type:	SW+P / F&M 3YO&Up
Status:	Group 3
Prize Money:	$200,000

2023 Epona Stakes Results & Finishing Order

• 1st: #6 Gin Martini ($9.50)
• 2nd: #2 Thalassophile
• 3rd: #8 Douceur

The John Sargent-trained Sandown Cup winning mare Gin Martini ($9.50) was good second-up at a a price given a perfectly-timed ride by jockey Damian Lane to score her maiden Group victory in the 2023 Epona Stakes results.

	Finish	No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Margin	Bar.	Weight	Penalty	Starting Price
	1	6	GIN MARTINI (NZ)	John Sargent	Damian Lane		10	55kg		$9.50
	2	2	THALASSOPHILE	Chris Waller	James McDonald	0.37L	2	56kg		$4F
	3	8	DOUCEUR	John Thompson	Brock Ryan	1.26L	6	54kg		$19
	4	7	PINK IVORY (NZ)	John Sargent	Brenton Avdulla	2.05L	5	54kg		$4.40
	5	9	SUPAGIRL (IRE)	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Tim Clark	5.31L	4	54kg		$5
	6	4	BELLATRIX BLACK (NZ)	Kris Lees	Hugh Bowman	5.81L	9	56kg		$19
	7	3	HONEYCREEPER	James Cummings	Kerrin McEvoy	6.96L	13	56kg		$18
	8	1	GLINT OF HOPE (JPN)	Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young	Nash Rawiller	7.04L	3	59kg		$19
	9	12	ARAVENE	Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes	Jye McNeil	8.51L	8	54kg		$20
	10	11	HOMETRUTHS (IRE)	Chris Waller	Michael Dee	8.65L	1	54kg		$41
	11	14	QUEENMAKER	Edward Cummings	Tyler Schiller (a)	10.64L	12	54kg		$91
	12	10	SANSTOC (NZ)	Mark Newnham	Tom Sherry	10.66L	7	54kg		$10
	13	15e	SUNCHASER (NZ)	Robert Quinn	Ms Rachel King	11.12L	11	54kg		$101
	14	13	CAROLINA FIRE	Lee & Cherie Curtis	Jay Ford	13.7L	14	54kg		$81
		5	BISCAYNE BAY	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Dylan Gibbons (a)		0

Table Credit: Racing Australia. 

2023 Epona Stakes Betting Odds

The updated Epona Stakes 2023 betting odds on the staying fillies & mares racing in the Group 3 this Golden Slipper Day will be available below.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST 2023 EPONA STAKES ODDS (Final Field)

2023 Epona Stakes Form

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2023 EPONA STAKES FORM GUIDE

2023 Epona Stakes Tips

Stay tuned for our insider Epona Stakes 2023 Tips on the Golden Slipper Day support act this autumn.

• To Win: #2 Thalassophile ($4.20 at time of publish)

Hard to tip against Chris Waller’s in-form Not A Single Doubt four-year-old who chases her third win on the trot this prep. Comes off a nose win in the Group 3 Aspiration Quality over a mile when working her way well to the line from midfield. Goes up in distance and weight (53kg to 56kg), but defeated a few of these last time out and is on the improve. James McDonald in the saddle from a nice inside barrier two draw. Previous winner here with more weight at 2000m so Rosehill and 1900m are a non-issue. She rates well and looks a hard to beat favourite.

2023 Epona Stakes Field

The Epona Stakes field features a smart line-up of fillies and mares either proven at staying distances or testing the waters over more metres during the autumn.

The official 2023 Epona Stakes field and barriers are set for release on Wednesday March 15, 2023 and will be published below as soon as available.

The Epona Stakes 2023 final field features a capacity line-up of fillies and mares with markets on the staying showdown led by Chris Waller’s last start Group 3 Aspiration Quality winner Thalassophile.

No	Last 10	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Probable Weight	Penalty	Hcp Rating
1	10x6545x09	GLINT OF HOPE (JPN)	Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young	Nash Rawiller	3	59kg			96
2	27×3862611	THALASSOPHILE	Chris Waller	James McDonald	2	56kg			92
3	6x52946x85	HONEYCREEPER	James Cummings	Kerrin McEvoy	14	56kg			87
4	422118×69	BELLATRIX BLACK (NZ)	Kris Lees	Hugh Bowman	10	56kg			85
5	833x8560x2	BISCAYNE BAY	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Dylan Gibbons (a)	8	56kg			82
6	8x064314x6	GIN MARTINI (NZ)	John Sargent	Damian Lane	11	55kg			92
7	59x51627x2	PINK IVORY (NZ)	John Sargent	Brenton Avdulla	5	54kg			90
8	55x060x088	DOUCEUR	John Thompson	Brock Ryan	6	54kg			82
9	151471324x	SUPAGIRL (IRE)	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Tim Clark	4	54kg			82
10	17x8139x11	SANSTOC (NZ)	Mark Newnham	Tom Sherry	7	54kg			75
11	1x3441x8x	HOMETRUTHS (IRE)	Chris Waller	Michael Dee	1	54kg			74
12	1x5110x756	ARAVENE	Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes	Jye McNeil	9	54kg			73
13	204×851363	CAROLINA FIRE	Lee & Cherie Curtis	Jay Ford	15	54kg			62
14	207128×922	QUEENMAKER	Edward Cummings	Tyler Schiller (a)	13	54kg			61
15e	326x12x45	SUNCHASER (NZ)	Robert Quinn	Ms Rachel King	12	54kg			57

Table Credit: Racing Australia. 

2023 Epona Stakes Nominations

Early Epona Stakes nominations in 2023 are taken the Monday of race week and will be updated below once released.

	Last 10	Horse	Sex	Age	Trainer	Hcp Rating
1	21×41	AMPERE (NZ)	M	5	Michael Kent	66
2	1x5110x756	ARAVENE	M	4	Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes	73
3	422118×69	BELLATRIX BLACK (NZ)	M	4	Kris Lees	85
4	833x8560x2	BISCAYNE BAY	M	4	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	82
5	204×851363	CAROLINA FIRE	M	5	Lee & Cherie Curtis	62
6	45415	CRIMSON LIGHT (NZ)	M	4	Michael Kent	61
7	2512	DANCINGINTHEDARK	M	4	Michael Kent	62
8	4619×24159	DENY KNOWLEDGE (IRE)	M	5	Michael Kent	84
9	55x060x088	DOUCEUR	M	4	John Thompson	82
10	8x064314x6	GIN MARTINI (NZ)	M	4	John Sargent	92
11	10x6545x09	GLINT OF HOPE (JPN)	M	4	Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young	96
12	1x3441x8x	HOMETRUTHS (IRE)	M	4	Chris Waller	74
13	6x52946x85	HONEYCREEPER	M	4	James Cummings	87
14	x211714x94	LEFT REELING (NZ)	M	4	John Sargent	69
15	332×786122	LOVELY ESTEEM (GB)	M	5	Chris Waller	81
16	59x51627x2	PINK IVORY (NZ)	M	4	John Sargent	90
17	207128×922	QUEENMAKER	M	4	Edward Cummings	61
18	0x11215x34	ROOTS	M	4	Chris Waller	96
19	17x8139x11	SANSTOC (NZ)	M	4	Mark Newnham	75
20	326x12x45	SUNCHASER (NZ)	M	4	Robert Quinn	57
21	151471324x	SUPAGIRL (IRE)	M	4	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	82
22	27×3862611	THALASSOPHILE	M	4	Chris Waller	92

Table Credit: Racing Australia. 

Epona Stakes History

The Epona Stakes was first run in 1998 and won by Burning Embers. Since then some nice types have taken out the race including Fibrillation (2012) and Scratchy Bottom (2015). It only gained black-type status in 2001 as a Listed race before a Group 3 upgrade in 2012. The race is named after Celtic-Roman god Epona known as the protector of horses.

Known by a number of different names over the years the Epona Stakes has run as the Epona Mares Quality Plate, De Bortoli Wines Stakes and Percy Sykes Tribute Stakes in recent years. From 2000 – 2002 the race took place at Canterbury Park and from 1998 – 1999 it was contested over 2000m instead of the current 1900m distance.

In 2021 the original Golden Slipper Stakes race day including the Epona Stakes was abandoned due to heavy rainfall and unsafe track conditions and postponed to the following Saturday.

Recent Epona Stakes Winners

See below for the full Epona Stakes results and winners going back to the year 2000.

Year	Place	Horse	Time
2023 Epona Stakes	1st	Gin Martini	1 minute 56.12 seconds
	2nd	Thalassophile
	3rd	Douceur
2022 Epona Stakes	1st	Monegal	2 minutes 00.62 seconds
	2nd	Nerve Not Verve
	3rd	Feel The Rush
2021 Epona Stakes	1st	Polly Grey	1 minute 57.80 seconds
	2nd	Aliferous
	3rd	She’s Ideel
2020 Epona Stakes	1st	Missybeel	1 minute 57.64
	2nd	Gayatri
	3rd	Greysful Glamour
2019 Epona Stakes	1st	Semari	2 minutes 02.30 seconds
	2nd	I’m A Princess
	3rd	All Too Soon
2018 Epona Stakes	1st	The Pinnacle	1 minute 58.51 seconds
	2nd	Domed
	3rd	Nettoyer
2017 Epona Stakes	1st	Consommateur	2 minutes 06.45 seconds
	2nd	Ambience
	3rd	Top Of My List
2016 Epona Stakes	1st	Vergara	1 minute 56.8 seconds
	2nd	Heavens Above
	3rd	Sweet Fire
2015 Epona Stakes	1st	Scratchy Bottom	1 minute 57.3 seconds
	2nd	Rising Romance
	3rd	Telepathic
2014 Epona Stakes	1st	Intimate Moment	2 minutes 7.0 seconds
	2nd	Any Day Will Do
	3rd	Epingle
2013 Epona Stakes	1st	Aliyana Tilde	1 minute 55.8 seconds
	2nd	Epingle
	3rd	Dolly Dolly
2012 Epona Stakes	1st	Fibrillation	1 minute 57.6 seconds
	2nd	Crafty Irna
	3rd	Once Were Wild
2011 Epona Stakes	1st	Galizani	1 minute 57.0 seconds
	2nd	Vivid Vixen
	3rd	Vintedge
2010 Epona Stakes	1st	Messenger	1 minute 59.8 seconds
	2nd	Pagan Princess
	3rd	Jessicabeel
2009 Epona Stakes	1st	Divine Rebel	1 minute 58.5 seconds
	2nd	Prima Nova
	3rd	Risayla
2008 Epona Stakes	1st	Ready To Lift	1 minute 57.69 seconds
	2nd	My Lady’s Chamber
	3rd	Reggie
2007 Epona Stakes	1st	Safwa	1 minute 55.62 seconds
	2nd	Grey Stream
	3rd	Upper Echelon
2006 Epona Stakes	1st	Kosi Bay	1 minute 57.78 seconds
	2nd	Fantasia
	3rd	Sun Song
2005 Epona Stakes	1st	Natural Woman	1 minute 55.06 seconds
	2nd	Cincinnati Gal
	3rd	Clevedon
2004 Epona Stakes	1st	Great Anna	1 minute 56.55 seconds
	2nd	Vereza
	3rd	Thundarosa
2003 Epona Stakes	1st	Airlie Bird	1 minute 55.8 seconds
	2nd	Talista Belle
	3rd	Honor Babe
2002 Epona Stakes	1st	Ilze	1 minute 58.43 seconds
	2nd	Floridays
	3rd	Call Me Lily
2001 Epona Stakes	1st	Market Price	1 minute 57.85 seconds
	2nd	Poppett
	3rd	The Druidess
2000 Epona Stakes	1st	Our Erin	2 minutes 00.16 seconds
	2nd	Eye Spy
	3rd	Dalquareen