A decade after he failed to run a place in the Golden Slipper, Exceed And Excel gets the chance to stamp his name on the race.

The Slipper is recognised as a stallion maker, either for the winner or its sire.

Exceed and Excel is represented by four runners - the favourite Overreach and stablemates Sidestep, Guelph and Kuroshio who carry the Darley colours of his owner Sheikh Mohammed.

In his year, Exceed And Excel had a chequered preparation and trainer Tim Martin almost abandoned his campaign.

After winning the 2003 Todman Stakes, he took his place in the Slipper field but was run down late, eventually finishing ninth after jumping from the hoodoo barrier 13.

Exceed And Excel shone as a three-year-old, winning the Dubai Racing Club Cup and the Newmarket Handicap.

Nick Moraitis sold him to Darley and he joined the stallion roster in 2004.

He has become a leading sire on two continents with Helmet his best performed Australian son and Excelebration a triple Group One winner in Europe.

Helmet has joined his father at Darley while Excelebration is on the Coolmore roster.

The Gai Waterhouse-trained Overreach is raced by her breeder George Altomonte while the Darley trio are with Sheikh Mohammed's head trainer in Australia, Peter Snowden who rates the breed highly.

"They are push-button. They train themselves," Snowden said.

"Most of them are really dead-set two-year-olds, so they make it easy."

The wet track could be a concern for many in the field with Overreach's stablemate Sweet Idea, who is by Snitzel, the only one with winning form on heavy ground which she encountered in the Silver Slipper.

Exceed And Excel never raced on a wet track but supporters can take heart from Helmet's all-the-way win in the 2011 Champagne Stakes on the heaviest rated track possible.