A cracking field has lined up for this prestigious event and the winner will join several all-time greats on the honours board – a random sample throws up such legendary names as dead-heaters In Full Flight and Sentinel, as well as the likes of Hawaii, Politician, Bold Tropic, Empress Club and Horse Chestnut, and there are many other big names one could add to that list.

This year’s race seems to divide itself into a top tier of five or six runners with genuine winning claims (on exposed form, anyway) and a lengthy queue of those who, while seemingly lacking the bare form to actually win this, have shown enough to sneak into the minor placings at least. Quartet punters will therefore need to go pretty wide in order to cover all bases.

1 FOREST INDIGO: Nominated for Equus champion juvenile award last season following two top Gr 1 performances, winning the Golden Horseshoe and flying up for second in the Premiers Champion Stakes. Two nice warm-up runs this season, easing home in a Graduation Plate last time out, and is a big runner here if not undone by a poor draw.

2 RED RAY: Hasn’t done much wrong with four wins and two seconds from six career starts and made a sensational start to the current season, returning from a six-month break to crush a smart field in the Cape Classic. However, his supporters were left disappointed when he was caught late by Captain America in the Lanzerac Ready To Run Stakes, although that one is a top-class performer in his own right. Has drawn wide for the third consecutive time, and there must be stamina doubts in his first attempt beyond 1400m. However, one cannot discount the fact that he was having his second run after a rest last time out and should have come on for that effort. Sheer class means that he must enter all calculations.

3 ANTONIUS DU BOIS: Won the Langerman and Fairview’s Champion Juvenile Stakes as a 2-year-old and made an encouraging  seasonal debut when fourth under top weight in the Cape Classic. Subsequent fifth in the Lanzerac Ready To Run Stakes was a bit of a disappointment in the context of his Classic effort. Worth another chance, but hard to see him reversing form with the likes of Captain America and Red Ray and a minor placing may be his best hope here.

4 WHISTLE STOP: Two wins and two seconds from four starts to date and impressed when flying up late to beat Willow Magic in the Graham Beck Stakes, before finding the form reversed (on 4.5kg worse terms) in The Dingaans. Willow Magic is one of the best of this crop and would have been a big runner if he were participating here, so he is an excellent yardstick to be measured against. Well drawn and boasts a serious turn of foot. One for the short-list.

5 CAPTAIN AMERICA: Trainer Brett Crawford identified him early on as a leading prospect in his yard and the son of Captain Al has not disappointed, notching up a fourth consecutive win when derailing Red Ray in the Lanzerac Ready To Run Stakes. Will be even better over the extra furlong here and may well be the one to beat.

6 STRONGMAN: Looked set for bigger things when completing a hat-trick with an impressive victory in the Sophomore Sprint, but has failed to show in two subsequent efforts and is hard to make a case for on current form.

7 DE KOCK: Seemingly the stable second-string behind Captain America but has an impressive record in his own right. As expected, relished the step up to a  mile when finishing well to win the Selangor Cup. Bad draw is an obvious concern but has a top jockey on board to negate that and is likely to come from off the pace anyway. Respect.

8 LEGISLATE: Three seconds in a row since shedding his maiden tag, but they have come in good company. Drawn badly in both the Cape Classic and Selangor Cup when flying up from the tail end of the field and has finally cracked a decent barrier position. 5kg worse off with Red Ray who he chased home in the Cape Classic, so he faces a difficult task to reverse that form on paper here, but seems to be improving with each run and is worth including for trifecta and quartet purposes.

9 DYNASTIC POWER: Has shown some promise in four starts to date and wasn’t beaten far into fourth place in the Selangor Cup. Drawn in pole position and  could be a handy outsider to include in the quartet.

10 ROMAN MANNER: Consistent form to date but takes a big leap in class here and looks to have too much to do, especially from a wide draw.

11 SPEED ROCKET: Looked promising when winning first two on the trot, then disappointed when beaten into third in handicap company before bouncing back to fill the same position in the Selangor Cup, where he ran on nicely. Good draw and is another one of a large contingent of lurkers who could provide good value for trifectas and quartets.

12 CAPE CUTTER: Well-bred sort who has maintained consistent form, going down narrowly to Top Jet (with whom he is now 2kg better off) in the Racing Association Stakes before finishing third to Forest Indigo and Top Jet in the former’s recent Graduation Plate win. Should be held by that pairing but is much better drawn than they are and looks to be yet another potential quartet roughie.

13 POWER KING: Upstaged by stablemate Speed Rocket (third) in the Selangor Cup where he could only manage fifth, albeit a mere two lengths behind the winner De Kock. Should be held on that run by the four sons of Dynasty that finished in front of him that day and re-oppose him here, but it’s interesting to see that Karl Neisius has stuck with him. Trainer Dean Kannemeyer is the acknowledged master of the Cape Guineas and Power King could well turn out to be capable of reversing the Selangor form.

14 TOP JET: Very promising and followed up easy maiden win with a narrow victory over Cape Cutter in the Racing Association Stakes. Respectable second to Forest Indigo in a Graduation Plate next time out but now has to contend with a horrible draw which dampens ones enthusiasm for his chances.

15 ELUSIVE GOLD: Has thrived since being upped to a mile, winning both starts over this trip, but is taking a huge step up in class and has a mountain to climb on bare form here.

VERDICT: Thriller of a race in store and there doesn’t seem to be much between the top five or six contenders, some of whom have drawn poorly. Tactics and luck in running are bound to play a crucial role, especially given the large field. Trainer Mike de Kock would not be sending down Whistle Stop if he didn’t think he could topple the big guns from the Cape and, from a good draw, he may just hold the slightest of edges. The Brett Crawford pairing of Captain America and De Kock represent a strong hand indeed, while Red Ray’s intrinsic class means he cannot be ignored. Forest Indigo and Legislate also warrant plenty of respect.