Marmelo is after the Adrian Knox Stakes - Australian Oaks double her stablemate Royal Descent won last autumn. Photo: Race Horse Photos Australia.

This Saturday a race that has produced three of the past 10 Australian Oaks winners will take place at Royal Randwick, a field of three-year-old fillies coming head to head in the Adrian Knox Stakes 2014.

Nominations for the Doncaster Mile Day showdown are now out with a bumper 28 fillies entered for this year’s $200,000 Group 3 Adrian Knox Stakes (2000m).

The handicap feature has seen three fillies graduate from it to a win the following Saturday in the Group 1 Australian Oaks (2400m) with Royal Descent (2013), Wild Iris (2004) and Republic Lass (2002).

Chris Waller won the double last year with Royal Descent but is a roughie’s chance of doing it again this Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival with just one Adrian Knox nominee, Duke Of Marmalade filly Marmelo.

She’s had five starts to date, winning two including one at Randwick’s Kensington track last October, however her form this time in has been dismal.

She’s at $51 in the futures Australian Oaks odds at Ladbrokes.com.au, a price that will come in if she manages an upset on Saturday.

Money says this year’s Oaks champ is not among the Adrian Knox Stakes entries, the shortest priced of the weekend’s hopes in the Oaks markets being the Peter Moody-trained Metaphorical.

The daughter of Dylan Thomas has raced exclusively in Group company this season starting with a first-up third in the Group 2 Angus Armanasco Stakes to Spirits Dance.

She then came to Sydney when sixth to Thump in the Group 2 Surround Stakes, beaten under two lengths, before her last start third behind Zanbagh in the Group 3 Keith Nolan Classic when getting up to the mile on March 23.

Also coming into the Adrian Knox via the Keith Nolan is the Gai Waterhouse-trained Role Model.

Like Metaphorical, the Bel Danoro filly pays $26 in futures Australian Oaks betting following her first-up second at Kembla Grange.

That was also the Kiwi expat’s maiden run down under, the Group performer in New Zealand sure to have improved on the run.

Waterhouse has also nominated for Northern Meteor filly Amanpour who won back-to-back races this year before their Keith Nolan ninth and Aztec Rose.

Guy Walter then has three Adrian Knox entries with Sweet Jaffa, the lightly-raced High Harmony and most notable Missvonn.

Missvonn is at $31 for the Oaks on Saturday week, the Teofilo filly already with Group 1 experience having finished sixth behind the new $3 Oaks favourite Lucia Valentina in the Group 1 Vinery Stud Stakes at Rosehill over the weekend.

That was a brave run as she went up from a mile to see the 2000m for the first time, it was on a Heavy (8) track and she had barrier 15 (of 16) to overcome.

Other notable nominations then include last start Wyong winner Estonian Princess who finished second to Sweet Idea in January’s Magic Millions Guineas on the Gold Coast and Roger James’ Kiwi visitor Lady Cumquat coming off a Group 3 win back home from a fortnight ago.

The full Adrian Knox Stakes 2014 nominations are listed below and will be cut down to reveal the final field on Wednesday.

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2014 Adrian Knox Stakes Nominations

Randwick Racecourse – 12/04/2014