Even harder to believe is I'm yet to experience an Albury carnival that hasn't been overshadowed by controversy.

After experiencing a crowd with no cup followed by a cup with no crowd, surely there won't be any curve balls today.

It's fair to say club chief Steve Hetherton has faced a baptism of fire in his first two years at the club and is due for a change of luck.

I wouldn't blame Albury Racing Club president Mark Cronin for hunting Steve and myself out of town if anything goes wrong on Friday because clearly one or both of us has cursed the club.

To the club's credit the track is looking magnificent and should provide an even playing field for the duration of the carnival.

The cup field is nothing short of outstanding and no doubt one of the strongest fields in recent history.

Last year's winner Spunlago was named as the first emergency which highlights the depth of quality stayers targeting the feature.

Adding further intrigue to the race is how many different formlines there are and which gallopers have had the best preparation to run a strong 2000m.

Let's have a crack at trying to pinpoint the winner.

Unlike most years where there is a standout horse to beat, I don't think that is the case this year.

At least half-a-dozen horses including Mahamedeis, Entente, Silent Sovereign, The Lord Mayor, Hush Writer and Declares War could win without surprising.

IN OTHER NEWS

The fact that the Golden Slipper meeting at Rosehill is guaranteed to be run on a heavy track has no doubt boosted the quality of the field.

In previous years a lot of the big Sydney and Melbourne stables have accepted for the Albury Cup as well as races in the city before opting against travelling.

But I would be surprised if those Sydney trainers don't make the trek to Albury this year to race on a good surface in preference to a bog track at Rosehill.

Several of those Sydney raiders are also nominated for next month's Group One Sydney Cup and will be looking to boost their ratings at Albury to guarantee a start.

I have no doubt most of the stables with runners in the cup have had the Albury Cup on their radar for a few months and are ready to peak.

Gai Waterhouse has had several previous unsuccessful attempts at winning Albury's premier race.

But the Hall of Fame trainer has an undeniable chance of winning this year with Entente.

Entente ran second when resuming over a mile late last month.

The Dundeel gelding then started favourite in the Canberra Cup and led well into the home straight before being swamped late to finish fourth.

Third-up over 2000m, Entente should be ready to peak and will take a power of beating.

The Lord Mayor is a dual acceptor for both the Albury and Mornington Cups with Albury looking the more suitable race for the Chris Waller-trained stayer.

But the winner of the Mornington Cup gets an exemption from the Caulfield Cup ballot which would be weighing heavily on Waller's mind.

Similar to Entente, The Lord Mayor looks ready to peak at Albury after three runs back from a spell and is one runner that does look over the odds.

The Nick Ryan-trained Mahamedeis looks set to start favourite.

Interestingly, Mahamedeis went up at $8 when markets first opened but was quickly backed into $3.80 after several big bets.

While I concede Mahamedeis is among the leading chances, I don't think he deserves to be that short considering the calibre of his rivals.

I expect him to get out closer to $5 by the time they jump.

In saying that Mahamedeis boasts an impressive 2000m record and his two runs this preparation indicate to me he has come back in terrific order.

Getting beat just over 3.5-lengths in the Group 2 Blamey over a mile at his most recent start is a strong form pointer.

Third-up over 2000m looks ideal and Mahamedeis also showed his class over the spring after proving competitive in Group company.

Interestingly, trainer Nick Ryan elected to work Mahamedeis at Albury last week before returning to his Caulfield stables.

That tells me the stable means business and undoubtedly gives you a slight edge over horses that have never seen the track before.

But in saying that Albury is not a unique track where horses come here and don't seem to handle it.

It's a big track which gives every horse its chance and more often than not horses running on the track for the first time either win or at least run well.

While I do rate Mahamedeis a strong chance, I just feel he is under the odds and shouldn't be as clear-cut a favourite as he is.

I'm rapt to have Perfect Illusion running around in the cup again this year after a couple of scratchings.

Perfect Illusion ran sixth in the race last year but I feel he is going ten times better than he was this time last year.

He will go around at massive odds but I expect him to run a cheeky race

It wouldn't surprise me if Perfect Illusion produced a career best run and snuck into the placings.