Godolphin's late-blooming Golden Slipper squad will be given a stern test up and down the eastern seaboard, but trainer John O'Shea would be just as happy to see a couple of his major group 1 players return in the manner he expects in the Apollo Stakes.
Cox Plate heroine Winx is at almost unbackable odds to return a winner in the group 2 event at Randwick on Saturday, where Magic Hurricane and Hauraki will begin their autumn tilts.
Magic Hurricane was a last-start group 1 winner in The Metropolitan and will tread a path towards The BMW, but O'Shea is just as confident former Australia Derby runner-up Hauraki will catch the eye in the Apollo Stakes.
"It's a flip of the coin [who would be the preference]," O'Shea said. "Hauraki is absolutely flying and Magic [Hurricane] is a very good seven-furlong horse when he wants to be. I couldn't split them.
"They're both going really well. Both horses have returned beautifully and I couldn't be happier with them.
"We're looking at a race like The BMW with Magic [Hurricane] and Hauraki will probably head towards the Ranvet Stakes."
Magic Hurricane ($26) just shades Hauraki ($34) in Apollo Stakes betting with Ladbrokes - a far cry from $1.50 favourite Winx.
On the favourite, O'Shea said: "It's not really for me to comment on how we could beat her. I'd like to be training her [though], put it that way."
Godolphin's unbeaten filly Ghisoni is likely to start favourite in the Light Fingers Stakes while Generalife will carry the boys in blue's hopes in the Southern Cross Stakes.
"Ghisoni has to do it at this level now and Generalife has always been a good group 2 and group 3 horse and this is the type of race that fits his profile," O'Shea said. "He always needs a bit of luck considering his racing pattern."
But it is the international racing and breeding giant's formidable two-year-old army, including Calliope (fillies) and Cohesion (colts and geldings) that will hold most interest in the Blue Diamond Previews at Caulfield.
They will be complemented by the resuming Telperion at Randwick in the Lonhro Plate as O'Shea musters his team for the Golden Slipper, which included three Godolphin runners last year.
"[Telperion] is a lovely horse and they're a bit slower maturing horses this year, but I think they're a better crop," O'Shea said.
"We had a lot of winners before Christmas last season and this year they've just taken that little bit longer to hit the ground. We're not complaining though and we're very happy with our two-year-olds."
