The nominations have been released for Sunday's Wellington Boot, and Wellington Race Club Secretary Manager Ian Giffen said it's shaping up to be "one of the best quality fields in recent years".
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"It's a fantastic field, and all the other nominations are very good for all the other races," he said.
This year's field includes two runners from trainer Gary Portelli, in Racy and Domanus, as well as the winner of the Group Three Black Opal Stakes (1200m), two-year-old Takedown, trained by Gary Moore.
The other big inclusion is Igraine, from Godolphin, trained by John O'Shea.
Godolphin, backed by United Arab Emirates billionaire Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has grown to become the largest horse operation in the southern hemisphere, and has recently turned its attention to Australian racing.
Other races on the day include the 1400m Maiden Plate, which will feature fellow Godolphin runner Transcript.
Mr Giffin said it was very exciting to so many quality runners coming to Wellington.
"Godolphin have a runner. The winner of the Black Opal is in the field, and a couple of horses from Sydney," he said.
"Gary Portelli, another Sydney trainer, has got horses."
"They [all] look fantastic."
But with two wins and a third placing from his last three starts, two-year-old Takedown will be one to watch, he said.
"In terms of recent form, the favourite has got to be the winner of the Black Opal."
He said rain that fell over the track on Tuesday shouldn't have any affect on the race.
"0mm [forecast] for the next four to five days, so that's what I want to see," he said.
"It's ideal actually. It'll freshen up all of the lawn - it's great timing."
It's now over to the trainers to accept the invitation to race in Sunday's Boot, with the final field to be revealed on Thursday, March 26.
