Won by superstar Black Caviar in her last appearance in her home state (and penultimate career race) four years ago, the William Reid boasts an impressive honour roll of champions down the years.

In addition to the wonder mare, who also won the race in 2011, champions such as Apache Cat and Miss Andretti have won it in the past decade, while the great Manikato won it five years in succession between 1979 and 1984.

While none of Friday night's field, headed by regular group 1 performer Rebel Dane and last year's hero Flamberge along with up-and-coming three-year-old Star Turn, are in that class, they have all been highly competitive at the top level.

Mares, headed by the incomparable Winx, have enjoyed great success at group 1 level against colts and geldings in recent years.

On Friday night the Hayes/Dabernig squad's Oakleigh Plate heroine Sheidel will be flying the flag for fast females alongside Andrew Noblet's Silent Sedition, an improving four-year-old who put up a storming performance when wide the whole way in the Coolmore Classic in Sydney, only to be just touched off in that group 1 event.

Sheidel - who was also fourth in the Newmarket - is a known speedster, while Silent Sedition is dropping back in trip from the 1500 metres of the Coolmore.

There has been plenty of pre-post money to suggest that Darren Weir's progressive sprinter Hellbent can land the prize on what will be his first race at Moonee Valley.

The four-year-old has yet to win at group 1 level and often finds bad luck in running, but in Damian Lane he has a jockey in form who recently tasted group 1 success when he won the Australian Cup on Humidor for Weir on Super Saturday.

The unknown quantity in the field is the Perth raider Rock Magic, who has never run in Melbourne. But WA sprinters have a long tradition of travelling east and making a huge impression, so his chances should not be dismissed. Sheidel started out in Perth before moving to the Hayes yard and she has been more than competitive in Victoria.

Star Turn has taken on the swiftest sprinters in the land in recent races, running third to Redkirk Warrior in the Newmarket and Terravista in the Lightning Stakes in his two runs this time in, while he rounded off his spring campaign by running third to Flying Artie in the Coolmore during the spring carnival.

All those races were at group 1 level, and Team Hawkes will have him cherry ripe for this test, a race they won 14 years ago with Yell, partnered by the recently retired Darren Gauci.