Rainbow Bridge may thwart Legal Eagle’s bid to go into the record books – alongside Pocket Power and nineteenth century star Riley – as a four-time winner of the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate.

The four-year-old would be unbeaten in six starts had things not gone against him in the Green Point. Forget about that little bit of overweight and concentrate on the energy he needlessly burnt up fighting for his head when the pace was too slow for him. As Eric Sands himself put it: “The horse revealed a chink in his armour.”

That chink surely cost him more than the 2kg he was receiving and the three short heads he was beaten. Assuming stable companion Amazing Strike makes it a proper gallop there should be no repeat and Bernard Fayd’Herbe is a Queen’s Plate star with five wins in 18 years.

A bigger concern is the way the gelding works himself up once he realises he is on the way to the races. So far it hasn’t stopped him but this is his biggest test and the crowd will be by far the largest he has ever seen.

Tomorrow’s Kenilworth showpiece has been billed, somewhat imaginatively, as the race of the century – we have already had a few of these and there are still another 81 years to go – but there is no doubt about it promising to be a cracking contest, particularly after the Green Point’s skin-tight finish.

Legal Eagle has never been beaten in ten starts over this trip, he is officially a kilo and a half better than anything else in the race, is partnered by a jockey bordering on genius bidding for his eighth Queen’s Plate and his trainer is now odds-on to win his fourth championship. To suggest defeat is nigh-on sacrilege. In truth, everything will have go right for Rainbow Bridge if Legal Eagle is to meet his mile Waterloo.

Brett Crawford is convinced that Undercover Agent has come on since the Green Point when Corne Orffer’s mount was obliged to play into the hands of the other principals to avoid the race turning into a sprint. Do It Again will also be much better suited by a proper pace.

The money continues to come for Buffalo Bill Cody and he was as short as 4-1 yesterday morning. Beaten only in the second of his six starts, he receives the half kilo Northern Hemisphere allowance here. Victory would require at least a six kilo improvement on his rating but it would certainly come as no surprise.

Soqrat is the tenth three-year-old to run in the race since 2000. Gimmethegreenlight won in 2012 and four of the others made the frame. Randall Simons’ mount won the Cape Guineas quite comfortably and his trainer is a genius.

Of the others Hat Puntano ran pretty near his rating when over four lengths fifth in the Green Point but you can get 125-1 about him. “He would have improved since and he certainly won’t be disgraced,” says Joey Ramsden who has won the race three times. “He will be a runner but it’s going to be hard for him. As I said before, it’s the hottest Queen’s Plate for years.”

It is not a race for outsiders. Favourites have won eight of the last 12 runnings and during that period the only winner to start at a longer price than 7-1 was Gimmethegreenlight (13-1).

But the outcome is almost entirely dependent on whether Jessica Slack has Ideal World’s stud reputation in the forefront of her mind when deciding on Amazing Strike’s tactics for his final racecourse appearance. If she doesn’t, Legal Eagle could join the history-makers.

Oh Susanna may repeat last year’s Cartier Paddock Stakes win and today Nous Voila appeals at 9-2 in the Cartier Sceptre.

By Michael Clower