February 16 - On Saturday at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Sydney, Australia, horseracing fans are in for a treat as the AUD$250,000 Apollo Stakes (Gr 2) will be contested, a 1400m weight-for-age race that has attracted a list of star runners which should make for an exhilarating outing.

Usually a Gr 2 would not garner so much interest, but in the case of the Apollo Stakes, its talented field speaks for itself. For instance, four-year-old winner of December's $150,000 Villiers Stakes (Gr 2) at Randwick, Palacio De Cristal will start, and her trainer is confident in her chances.

Said Grahame Begg, 'I'd like to see her run a nice race and hopefully we get some decent weather during the week. That would help her a bit more because she probably needs good to firm ground to show her best.' The mare came third in a barrier trial last week and is looking good for Saturday.

Fellow trainer David Payne has entered Centennial Park in the Apollo, a feisty gelding that notched up a victory in the a Gr 3 outing in the spring, and then went on to snatch fourth place to Rangirangdoo on a heavy track in the $200,000 Expressway Stakes at Rosehill Gardens earlier this month.

Alcopop, arguably one of the most exciting new horses to watch on the Australian horseracing scene, will make his Sydney debut in the Apollo Stakes. This will act like a prep race for him as his connections are aiming him at the prestigious $2,250,000 BMW Stakes at Rosehill Gardens on April 3.

No Wine No Song could go either way in the Apollo considering that the race will mark his return to racing after recovering from a tendon injury. The gelding won the coveted Sydney Cup in 2008, but is somewhat injury prone. In last year's Apollo, he could only muster up a sixth place finish.

Possible entries include O'Lonhro, whose connections include Team Hawkes, and Road To Rock, who is trained by Anthony Cummings. They are possible entries because both thoroughbreds have also been in the 1400m $125,000 T S Carlyon Cup (Gr 3) at Caulfield Racecourse on the same day.