Scottsville's "Super Saturday" may boast four Gr 1 sprints but the meeting's standout event in recent years has tended to be the SA Fillies Sprint - hardly a surprise when one notes victories by such star performers as National Colour, Val De Ra and Ebony Flyer, any of whom would have been capable of pulling a crowd in her own right. This year is no exception and although not quite the richest race on the card, this looks to be the most enthralling contest of the day, with a genuinely high-quality field lining up.

Trainer Mike de Kock looks to have the strongest hand in this year's edition, sending out a formidable three-pronged attack, none of whom can be discounted as a possible winner. The highest-rated of this trio is Welwitschia, runner-up in this race last year and a mare who has been rejuvenated since returning to sprinting just over a year ago. Prior to the Fillies Sprint last year she had posted an effortless victory in the Camellia Stakes over 1160m; since then, she has turned in a string of creditable performances despite most of her runs being over 1000m, a trip she finds a tad on the sharp side. Significantly, her last five runs have all been against competitive male opposition, against whom she has won once and followed up by posting four creditable placings. One of those runs saw her finish second in the Golden Loom Handicap under a whopping 62.5kg, going down by half a length to Showmetheway, to whom she was conceding 10kg. Most recently, she stayed on for third behind champion What A Winter in the Gr 1 Computaform Sprint. She must be the one to beat now that she reverts to racing against her own sex over what looks to be her favourite distance and while she is theoretically held by Via Africa, who finished second in the Computaform Sprint, the extra furlong here is set to make all the difference. She does have a tendency to lose ground at the start, but Anthony Delpech knows her well and she looks poised to register her first Gr 1 win here.

Her stablemates are both 3-year-olds who are dropping back in trip and neither of them would have been considered an obvious contender for this race two or three months ago.

Festival Of Fire has notched up a string of feature wins, culminating in the Gr 2 KRA Fillies Guineas over a mile at Greyville last time out. Strictly speaking, she should find this one the sharp side, but she boasts a tremendous turn of foot. If she gets some cover early on, it would be no surprise to see her charging at them late (similar tactics, in fact, to those expected of Welwitschia). She's as genuine as they come and merits respect here.

Espumanti looked headed for big things when winning her first three starts in easy fashion, before failing to justify favouritism in the Gauteng Fillies Guineas, where she could only manage fourth. In hindsight, and given her relative inexperience, that run doesn't look too bad, especially as winner Cherry On The Top went on to annex the Triple Tiara in such brilliant fashion. This is as even tougher test than the Fillies Guineas but the drop back to six furlongs may be just what she's looking for. It's also worth bearing in mind that, being bred to northern time, she is up to six months younger than the locally-bred 3-year-olds. The time she's had to mature since her Guineas run nearly three months ago could turn out to be a key factor here.

Duncan Howells's Via Africa looks the obvious threat to the de Kock contingent and indeed, were this race being run over 1000m, she would have to be a shoo-in on form. A winner of five of her eight starts, she has already proven herself to be the best filly in the country over five furlongs, although, ironically enough, her two finest efforts have come in defeat. She took on champion sprinter What A Winter in the country's premier Gr 1 speed tests, the Cape Flying Championship and Computaform Sprint, and ran him pretty close in both. For a 3-year-old filly to give him a contest in both races was remarkable, to say the least, and she will find it much easier back against her own sex.

For all her undoubted brilliance, there has to be a question mark over how Via Africa will cope in her first attempt over 1200m, especially against such formidable opposition. It wouldn't be a surprise by any means if she proved equal to the task, but she is up against a number of battle-hardened fillies and mares who will get the trip with ease, and she looks vulnerable here.

All Is Secret is a high-class competitor with two Gr 1 victories to her name, entitling her to be considered the best juvenile filly on show last season. She's no stranger to this meeting, having won the Allan Robertson here last year. Her campaign this season has been met with mixed fortunes - two feature victories book-ending three rather disappointing defeats in her main summer targets in Cape Town. Having said that, two of those defeats can be put down to stamina issues and she looked much more like her old self when winning the Poinsettia Stakes over this course and distance last time out. Anton Marcus stays on board and she is a definite threat at her best.

The most accomplished runner in the race is Glen Kotzen's Princess Victoria, champion of her generation at the ages of three and four. She makes her third consecutive appearance at this meeting, having enjoyed contrasting results in the past. In 2011, she proved her supremacy over the rest of her age and sex with an effortless win in the Allan Robertson Championship. Then came her fateful appearance in this very race last year, where she was sent off favourite but failed to place after getting caught on the "wrong"side of the track, on a day when the going clearly favoured runners on the inside. She came back to win the Tibouchina Stakes and, thrillingly, the Garden Province Stakes, but she has been under a slight cloud this season, only being seen out twice and failing to make the placings on either occasion. In fairness, she was bumping the toughest of company, taking on the likes of  Variety Club, Jackson and J & B Met hero Martial Eagle, so she will clearly find this company - as strong as it is in its own right - more conducive. It's not easy to work out if she is back to her best, and she clearly had her share of problems during the summer, considering that she missed some of her obvious big race targets in Cape Town. One thing is for sure - if she brings her A-game to the track, she will be right in the thick of things.

Looking at the rest, all of Miss October, Jackodore, She's a Stunner, Comtesse Du Bois and Victorian Secret have decent feature race form to their names and cases could be made for any of them to sneak into a minor placing on her day.

Counter Ridge and Sue For Peace complete the line-up and while they are not slouches by any means, they both look to be up against in this class.

It's set to be one of the most thrilling races of the season and there are easily six genuine contenders for top honours. Welwitschia gets the vote, though, to go one better on last year's effort, at the expense of Via Africa, All Is Secret and Festival Of Fire. Princess Victoria must enter the equation if she is back to her best while Espumanti is the mystery horse of the race.