Contributer and Noble Protector arrived in Australia on the same flight from England last spring.

They were housed in the same quarantine barn at Werribee, then ran the quinella in a Group Three race on the Caulfield Cup undercard at their local debuts.

Now the imports are in line to start favourites for Group One races on one of Australian racing's biggest days at Randwick.

Godolphin recruit Contributer has already confirmed his status as a new star of Australian racing with four wins from five local starts, highlighted by the Sydney weight-for-age double of the Group One Chipping Norton and Ranvet Stakes.

The John O'Shea-trained horse is favoured to maintain his perfect autumn carnival record in Sydney's richest race, Saturday's $4 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

The Robert Smerdon-trained Noble Protector, owned by Qatar Bloodstock, was beaten by Contributer in the David Jones Cup at Caulfield in October, a formline which looks much richer in light of the Godolphin horse's Sydney heroics.

"She came over with a good reputation and her record was a tidy record," Smerdon said.

"I thought she was going really well into that David Jones Cup but then the other horse accounted for her quite comfortably."

This campaign, Noble Protector has strung together dominant wins in the Matron Stakes at Flemington and Sunline Stakes at Moonee Valley, convincing connections to put in a late entry for Saturday's $1 million Queen Of The Turf Stakes.

It is a race for which she shares favouritism with Sydney filly First Seal and only one other runner, Catkins, is at single-figure odds.

Smerdon said Noble Protector had returned a better horse this preparation as evidenced by her two easy wins in fillies and mares' races.

Tellingly, both were run over the Queen Of The Turf distance of 1600 metres.

"She's won a Group Three and a Group Two, so we'll have a go at a Group One," Smerdon said.

Noble Protector will be making her Sydney debut at Randwick with Craig Williams to ride.