Winning a Golden Slipper lead-up off a modest country race success is not going to be the insurmountable task it seems for Shadowofyoursmile at Canberra on Sunday.

As an unlikely form reference as it might be, Shadowofyoursmile will try to win the $250,000 Listed Black Opal Stakes after a narrow victory at Bathurst last month.

City form is usually the best guide for the Black Opal but White says it is what Shadowofyoursmile hadn't done that has him excited about her Canberra chances.

"She won the race at Bathurst off only one gallop and she has gone forward from that," White said.

"Her work on the track since then has been the best she's ever done and I think now she might now what she's doing."

Shadowofyoursmile will go into the Black Opal as the most experienced runner, even allowing for a misadventure at her first start when she completed the race without her rider.

Her inside barrier makes her Hawkesbury trainer even more confident in a year he says might lack the depth of previous Black Opals.

"It's not a vintage Black Opal and if she races up to her best I think she's got a really good chance," he said.

"I think she might finally know what she's doing so if that's the case she'd be in the better five chances in the race."

White's assessment mirrors that of first Black Opal markets with Shadowofyoursmile sharing the fifth line of betting at $10.

The Rosehill-trained Quartzite, the opening favourite at $4.80, is one of five horses listed to wear blinkers for the first time.

Quartzite threw away a midweek city race at his only start but kept a much straighter course in a trial win in blinkers on Tuesday.

Two Randwick-trained horses are competing for favouritism in the $200,000 Canberra Centenary Cup.

Shadows In The Sun, a South Australian Derby winner, is at $4.60 with Fast Clip at $4.80.

The Peter Snowden-trained Complicate is favourite for the Canberra Guineas and the Darley trainer also has Soledad at the top of betting for the National Sprint.