Possibly risky in the wet, I Am Superman is a lesser light behind Verry Elleegant, with Think It Over a worthwhile rival for the best, plus the rising Maximal, a three-quarter brother to Frankel, regarded by some in Europe as the best horse of our time, making it a sprint not to be missed.

With Chris Waller moulding the mare towards a European campaign, the query will be just how forward Verry Elleegant is, particularly being beaten in the two previous Apollos? Last year she flopped out of the barrier, was headstrong throughout but savaged the line. Verry Elleegant screams the art of Waller, with assistance from McDonald.

The Southern Cross is another attraction, due to Lost And Running, already the winner of seven out of 12 and, with anticipated improvement, at least the equal of Nature Strip and Eduardo, past the point of getting better. Lost And Running has a 61kg equaliser, conceding stablemate Quantico, very good and spiralling upwards, 7.5kg.

And what about Espiona? She gets the opportunity to confirm her potential in the Light Fingers, an outstanding array of three-year-old fillies emphasising the strength of Sydney racing. For instance, the group 2 Apollo is superior to the corresponding group 1 Orr Stakes at Caulfield.

Still, there is more to come with The Callander-Presnell replacing the Stan Fox. Although I don’t support swapping traditional titles, the Stan Fox has been around since 1975 and more recently was a 1400-metre event for three-year-olds at Randwick. The C-P will be over 1600 metres, also for the age category, for a modest $1 million, so, if anything, it is adding more substance to what was formed in the good old days when backing the winner was the principal reason for being on course.

Mind you, it isn’t the first time I’ve been bracketed with the esteemed Ken Callander. Once Lynell Peck, Randwick’s best catering manager, had a “Max And Kenny” for speed eating. A steak sandwich garnished with onions was a specialty, munched in close proximity to the rails betting ring because bookmakers held pride of place. Even Bill Haley and His Comets couldn’t pull a hungry punter away from getting top odds.