Last year's Royal Ascot winner Punctilious bids to supply Godolphin with their third Group 2 success of the season when she contests the Lancashire Oaks at Haydock tomorrow.
However, the daughter of Danehill will have to show a marked improvement inform if she is to make an impression in the mile and three fourlong race.
Punctilious, who won the Ribblesdale Stakes (Group 2) at Royal Ascot last year, was a disappointing fifth place behind New Morning on her seasonal debut in the Group 2 Brigadier Gerard Stakes last month.
Trained by Saeed Bin Surour, Punctilious will be ridden by Kerrin McEvoy.
Among her possible rivals is Playful Act, who beat subsequent star filly Maid's Causeway in the Group 1 Meon Valley Stud Fillies' Mile at Ascot last September.
The field is also likely to include Thakafaat, winner of this year's Ribblesdale Stakes and runner-up Twyla Tharp.
Meanwhile at Sandown Park, stable companion and French Derby winner Shamardal takes on Motivator, winner of the English equivalent, in the eagerly-awaited Coral-Eclipse Stakes.
A total of eight runners were declared for the race yesterday.
Michael Bell's Epsom Derby sensation Motivator and Surour's Shamardal have been dominating the build-up to the Group One clash which is one of the most anticipated races of the season.
Among the notable omissions are the Aidan O'Brien-trained Powerscourt, who was fifth in last year's Eclipse, and Godolphin's ex-South African runner Grand Emporium who was being touted as a possible pacemaker for Shamardal.
Others in the field include Italian raider Altieri and Luca Cumani's Starcraft, who was third in the Queen Anne on his last start.
Further international flavour is provided by French challenger Diamond Green and the Richard Hannon-trained Hurricane Alan.
Surour yesterday reported that Shamardal is "100 per cent" ready.
Surour told At The Races: "The horse came from York in good form and worked on Wednesday. He is fine and is ready to run.
"It is a very tough race, but he has won three Group Ones (this season) and we are looking forward to it. It will be very hard to win, but our horse is top class and 100 per cent ready for it."
The organisers at Sandown racecourse are bracing for record crowds tomorrow as Premier Enclosure has already sold out although 1,000 grandstand tickets will be available on a first come, first served basis.
Andrew Cooper, director of racing, told Sportinglife yesterday: "This represents the first sellout in an enclosure at Sandown Park since Desert Orchid's Whitbread Gold Cup victory in 1988."
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