Lindsay Park’s upset Australian Cup winner Harlem is set to head to Sydney on Golden Slipper Day this weekend featuring as a standout in the Ranvet Stakes 2018 nominations.

Australian Cup winner Harlem is among the 2018 Ranvet Stakes nominations for Rosehill Gardens on Saturday. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

Also nominated for the Group 3 $150,000 NE Manion Cup (2400m) on the same Rosehill card, the six-year-old Champs Elysees gelding is more likely to shoot for a second elite level win on the trot in the Group 1 $700,000 Ranvet Stakes (2000m).

Ranvet Stakes nominations have been extended until 11am (AEDT) on Tuesday morning with 14 current early entries for what is one of a bumper five Group 1 races on Slipper Day on Saturday.

A nice lead-up into the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Royal Randwick on April 14, the Ranvet Stakes is shaping-up as a star-studded affair this autumn.

Harlem jumped at big odds third-up in Flemington’s Group 1 Australian Cup (2000m) on March 10 but was too good for his Super Saturday rivals scoring a half-length upset.

The import will face another notable test should he accept for the Ranvet Stakes field heading to Sydney for the first time since a sixth in the Sydney Cup over two miles last April.

The Australian Cup – Ranvet Stakes double was most recently achieved by Manighar (2012), while the following year’s Ranvet Stakes winner Foreteller improved on a lead-up seventh in the same Flemington race.

Beaten Australian Cup favourite was the Darren Weir-trained French import Gailo Chop who is also nominated for a rematch at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday.

The Deportivo seven-year-old won back-to-back Caulfield races in February and jumped the short-priced favourite at Flemington.

The winning streak came to an end however when he finished runner-up and he could get the chance to atone and turn the tables in the Ranvet Stakes in his Sydney debut over his pet distance (12:6-1-0).

The other best out of the Australian Cup is Harlem’s stablemate Ventura Storm who placed third for the Lindsay Park stable last time out.

A five-year-old son of Zoffany, Ventura Storm is a Group 1 winner over the mile and a half in France but is yet to win down under.

His best result since coming over at the start of 2017 was a second to Winx in the Group 1 Turnbull Stakes (2000m) at Flemington last October.

Seeing Sydney for the first time if accepted on Saturday, Ventura Storm is the other chance to hand co-trainer David Hayes with a second Ranvet Stakes success following that with Better Loosen Up back in 1990.

No three-year-old has won the Ranvet Stakes since Gold Guru (1998) but there are two youngsters nominated this season with Terwilliker and Levendi.

Terwilliker is a three-time nominee across the Slipper Day program also entered for the Group 1 $600,000 Rosehill Guineas (2000m) and NE Manion Cup.

Levendi, also 2018 Rosehill Guineas-nominated, meanwhile is the better known three-year-old who could race on the quick turnaround after his second to runaway winner Cliff’s Edge in last Friday night’s Group 2 Alister Clark Stakes (2040m) at The Valley.

Other standout Ranvet Stakes nominees include the Gary Moore-trained Classic Uniform coming off a third to Winx in the Chipping Norton Stakes, stablemate Egg Tart who ran a disappointing 14^th as the beaten favourite in last Saturday’s Group 1 Coolmore Classic (1500m) and Nick Olive’s Caulfield Cup runner-up Single Gaze.

The final Ranvet Stakes 2018 field and updated odds at Ladbrokes.com.au are set for release on Wednesday.

2018 Ranvet Stakes Nominations

Extended until 20/03/2018 @ 11am (AEDT)

Rosehill Gardens – 24/03/2018