Trainer Mike de Kock has a strong hand at Turffontein's inside track on Saturday and could well end up winning no less than three of the four feature races on the card. In addition to Fisani, who looks the one to beat in the Three Troikas Stakes, he also sends out a powerful challenge in each of the Gr 3 Acacia Handicap and listed Wolf Power Handicap, both over 1600m.

The Acacia is a fillies and mares contest and two of the three de Kock runners have sound winning chances on their best form, albeit neither of them is the most straightforward.

Milk And Honey has turned in some top efforts at Turffontein's standside track where she has run second to the likes of Dancer's Daughter and Mother Russia. That level of form should easily make her the one to beat here, but she has never been able to reproduce that sort of performance elsewhere and has often been beaten against weaker opposition when racing away from her favourite track. She's too good to ignore completely, of course, but chances are that she may yet again find one too good for her on the day.

The one to beat could well turn out to be 3-year-old stablemate Laverna who has two very good Gr 1 efforts in the bag. One of them was an impressive all-the-way win in the Thekwini Stakes at the end of last season and the other was in the Cape Fillies Guineas where, having raced handy from a hopeless draw, she plugged away gamely for fourth. In between those efforts, though, have been some disappointing runs and she never showed in a small-field Graduation Plate last time out. She's obviously not easy to catch right but she is handily weighted, all things considered, and is a big runner if she decides to put her best hoof forward. There may be concerns that her best efforts have been against her own age group but Gluwein's Majorca win last week suggested that the youngsters are now catching up fast with their older rivals.

Prestic came into her own last season and ran a superb race on July day when third in a very strong garden Province Stakes despite jumping from draw 15. That run alone gives her a strong winning chance here but she has not been seen out since and also has to lug a big weight, conceding a fair bit down the field. If she does turn out fully fit, she must be involved in the finish.

Kiribati bumped some strong opposition last season but had notable bad luck with the draw in many of her races. She ran well for a long way in the Greyville 1900 and Woolavington Stakes before tiring late and didn't fare too badly last time out when second in a Conditions race on the sand, returning from a break of nearly six months. She's drawn well for a change and is not without a chance here.

Lisa Anne looks to be best of the rest. She's run consistently well in feature races over a range of distances without quite making it to the winner's box and is likely to have to settle for the placings again.

The Wolf Power Handicap sees the return of 2008 Summer Cup winner Rudra, who has not been seen out since landing that career-high victory. He's got it all to do under 63kg over a course and distance that looks distinctly on the sharp side for him and this is presumably a warm-up for more important targets coming up in the next few months.

Stablemate Havasha is an up-and-coming sort and must have a bright chance of landing the honours against his more exposed older rivals. The 3-year-old ran a fine race in defeat when third to Pierre Jourdan in the Ready To Run Cup, where he was drawn widest of all. Having made up plenty of ground in the straight to challenge for the lead, he understandably tired late and reversed the form when the two met in a Graduation Plate last time out. He would have been a leading contender had he taken on his own age group in the Tony Ruffel Stakes on the same card and the fact that de Kock has put him up against the older horses speaks volumes. Delpech rides, they share bottom weight and, with the likelihood of further improvement to come, Havasha looks had to beat from a good draw.

Regal Ransom could be the big danger. Sean Tarry's 4-year-old is lightly raced, with just nine starts under his belt, of which he has won five. He showed he is up to this sort of competition when a decent fourth (yet another case of a bad draw) in the Victory Moon Handicap and although he would prefer a bit further, he is very progressive and must be respected.

Rudi Rocks finished ahead of Regal Ransom in the Victory Moon when finishing second but is now 2kg worse off and may not find it as easy to confirm the form. He was quietly fancied to make a splash in the Summer Cup but never showed and disappointed again in a handicap over this course and distance next time out. A number of runners performed below par in that last race, which was won by inner For One, so perhaps it is best ignored and Rudi Rocks has to be a contender on his best form.

Dinner For One cAUS

Fenerbahce has run some good races against strong opposition, including a respectable fifth to Oracy in the London News Stakes but he then trailed in last in a six-runner Graduation Plate. It's hard to know what to make of him and he would probably prefer a more galloping track but he's just the type of horse to come back and bite you on the day you choose to write him off.

Of the rest, Zorba's Tale could sneak into the frame off joint bottom weight. He's often been held against weaker than this but he's a trier and should be battling on when many of his rivals have thrown in the towel.