Marinaresco can join the illustrious group who have won both the Durban July and the Sun Met by taking the great race at Kenilworth tomorrow. Legal Eagle and Oh Susanna look his biggest threats.

But it won’t be easy, not least because he is a difficult ride – he tends to drop himself out and get there too late. However his Queen’s Plate performance was a good one for a horse who needs at least this ten furlongs, his trainer and jockey are in tremendous form and this is his third run after a rest. He is reasonably priced at 9-2.

Legal Eagle (33-10) seems sure to run every bit as well as he did when second in the two previous years, particularly now that the traditional 2kg Grade I penalty has been scrapped. He has proved that he gets this trip but, unlike over a mile, he has shown himself to be vulnerable at it. The stats are also against him as seven of the last eight Met favourites have been beaten.

Fillies or mares have won three of the last eight and Oh Susanna is a big runner at 5-1. She has been totally overshadowed  by stable companion Snowdance but she gave away almost as much ground  as she was beaten at the start of the Cape Fillies Guineas and she accounted for the older horses in the Paddock Stakes with considerable authority.

Mike de Kock’s shock withdrawal of Cascapedia and Heavenly Blue (both horses “under veterinary treatment”) yesterday morning leaves Anthony Delpech watching on TV and will have caused some head-scratching in the Last Winter camp. But can you really jock off a rider of the calibre of the legendary Piere Strydom?

Probably not unless there was a “if Delpech becomes available” proviso to the booking. The Kannemeyer runner’s appalling draw is now 18 instead of 20 but it still lessens the chance of a 9-1 contender who is untested in Grade 1 company no matter how high class he looks. And the field is still as big as it has ever been in the last 20 years.

Four is the best age group – it has been responsible for seven of the last 12 winners – and Gold Standard (14-1) is the highest-rated of the six representatives of this generation. But Copper Force’s Queen’s Plate run was nearly three lengths better – and he is on 10-1.

Winter Series winner African Night Sky is the shortest priced four-year-old at 7-1, it’s his third run after a rest and Bernard Fayd’Herbe has won more Mets (three) than any other jockey in the field.

De Kock and Brett Crawford with three winners apiece are the most successful Met trainers represented here –indeed Sean Tarry is the only other to have won the race – but it will be a big surprise if a new name is not added to the list.

Captain America (13-1) ran a tremendous race in the Queen’s Plate but it is hard to see him stepping up on his two previous thirds over a trip that is not his best.

If you fancy any of the others don’t let anyone put you off. Half of the last eight winners started at 15-1 or more and nobody gave them much of a chance either.

Much the same applies to the Klawervlei Majorca in which favourites have the most appalling record – all except one of the last nine has bitten the dust – and in which Snowdance looks unbeatable. But anyone who takes odds of 1-6 in anything as unpredictable as a horse race needs their head examining and, with six of the others odds-on just for a place, this is a race to watch rather than bet on.

The Investec Cape Derby, though, is a different matter. Tap O’Noth seems to be one of those that just does enough and he may confirm Guineas running with White River although Peninsula Handicap winner Eyes Wide Open also appeals at 33-10.

Magical Wonderland stands out in the CTS 1200 and Cot Campbell may thwart Talk Of The Town’s hat-trick bid in the other $500 000 star prize.

By Michael Clower