Chris Waller’s Australian Cup winning stallion Preferment is the headline early entry for this Saturday’s feature race in Sydney, The BMW 2016 over the mile and a half.

Australian Cup winner Preferment (on protest) backs up in the 2016 The BMW in Sydney this weekend. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

Nominations for this year’s $1.5 million Group 1 The BMW (2400m) have been extended until 11am (AEDT) on Tuesday after just a dozen weight-for-age hopefuls were entered for the Easter Saturday classic.

The early favourite in all-in The BMW odds at Ladbrokes.com.au at $3.50 in pre-field betting is Zabeel four-year-old Preferment, a triple Group 1 winner.

As a three-year-old he took out the Victoria Derby in Melbourne before a Turnbull Stakes success, also at Flemington, last October and his last start Group 1 Australian Cup (2000m) victory on March 12 after being awarded the win on protest over first-past-the-post Awesome Rock.

If accepted into The BMW field he’ll be after a fourth Group 1 success, but first outside of Flemington, in his first Sydney run since a first-up fourth to superstar stablemate Winx in the Group 1 Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m) at Randwick.

His last Rosehill run meanwhile was his second to Volkstok’n’barrell in the 2015 Group 1 Rosehill Guineas (2000m).

The step up to 2400m is set to suit Preferment this weekend as he looks to go back-to-back in the race for four-year-olds after the success of Hartnell (2015) last Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival.

The last Australian Cup graduate to back straight up and win The BMW meanwhile was the ill-fated Cedarberg (7^th) in 2011, while the last to complete the double was the mighty Makybe Diva (2005).

Waller boasts a total of four early The BMW nominations with Preferment joined by last year’s Sydney Cup winner Grand Marshal, imported four-year-old Storm The Stars and Who Shot Thebarman.

Runner-up in the Group 1 Sydney Cup (3200m) last autumn and third in the previous year’s Melbourne Cup over the two miles, seven-year-old Who Shot Thebarman ran an eye-catching third last time out.

That run was at Rosehill in the Group 3 Sky High Stakes (2000m) when beaten just over a length by Sir John Hawkwood in a race that produced last year’s The BWM winner, Hartnell completing the double.

Sir John Hawkwood is currently rated a $26 outsider in futures The BMW betting to score both race wins again this season, the David Vandyke-trained Sir Percy seven-year-old second-up on the weekend and boasting a good second-up record (5-3-1-0).

Following Preferment in The BMW betting as the markets stand are the Lee & Anthony Freedman-trained Our Ivanhowe ($4) and last year’s Caulfield Cup champ Mongolian Khan ($7.50) for New Zealand’s Murray Baker.

Our Ivanhowe is a German import that finished third to Mongolian Khan in the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) last spring before a Melbourne Cup 10^th.

He has had two runs this time in for two fifth place efforts he’s tipped to improve on with more meters this weekend including crossing only one and a half lengths off Preferment in the Australian Cup.

Four-year-old Mongolian Khan comes via a different lead-up having run a first-up fifth to The United Stakes just last Saturday in the Group 1 Ravent Stakes (2000m).

The Ranvet Stakes has produced six of the past eight The BMW winners, most recently Silent Achiever (2014) who won both races two years ago.

Other notable hopes in the mix include the David Hayes & Tom Dabernig-trained Group 1 winning mare Rising Romance who ran third in the Australian Cup last start and young Montaigne who finished runner-up to Tarzino in last weekend’s Group 1 Rosehill Guineas (2000m).

See below for the latest The BMW 2016 nominations, the field and barrier draw due for release on Wednesday.

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2016 The BMW Nominations

Rosehill Racecourse – 26/03/2016