Saturday's Bathwick Tyres Greenham Stakes at Newbury is an early time in the season for a high-profile rematch but connections of Arcano and Canford Cliffs have no concerns about their meeting.
In the Group One Prix Morny at Deauville last summer the pair clashed as two-year-olds, with Brian Meehan's Arcano getting the better of Richard Hannon's budding superstar by a whisker, with the pair finishing first and third, split by the ante-post 1000 Guineas favourite Special Duty.
Neither Canford Cliffs, who had been so impressive in the Coventry Stakes at Ascot earlier in the campaign, or the unbeaten July Stakes winner Arcano raced again that term.
They are both likely to have the StanJames.com 2000 Guineas at Newmarket on the radar in a fortnight's time but need this Group Three to blow away the cobwebs.
Of Arcano, who carries the colours of Hamdan Al Maktoum, Meehan said: ‘He's in great shape but if he is going to go for a Guineas, either in Newmarket or France, he has got to have a run.
‘All these other good horses have got to run somewhere too, we're not worried about what else is in the race, we're thinking about the progress our horse is going to make.’
Hannon has two shots at the five-runner race as he will also run Dick Turpin.
And while he believes Dick Turpin can do himself justice, Canford Cliffs is clearly the stable number one.
He said: ‘Everyone knows how highly we rate Canford Cliffs. We have said that he is the best we've had and he looked awesome at Royal Ascot last year, but now he has to go and prove that he is as good, and maybe even better, as a three-year-old.
‘The Guineas is his main target, so this is merely the dress rehearsal and he has been off since Deauville last August. But, that said, he is a clean-winded horse who should be fit enough to do himself justice in this trial.
‘Canford Cliffs has filled out through the winter and we were pleased with his gallop with Paco Boy and Soul City last weekend. He idled a bit but they are two good horses he was coming up with, so we were happy enough.
‘Obviously, Arcano, who finished just in front of us in the Prix Morny, will be a big danger, but our fellow's preparation has gone smoothly and we are going up the road with no penalty, so there will be no excuses.
‘The professionals are telling me that he'll prove to be a sprinter, but none of us here are going along with that theory. Ideally, he'll get a lead as he will settle better with it, but he has started to relax during the close season, and Richard Hughes knows him well.’
The trainer has seen plenty of progress from Dick Turpin, too.
‘If we did not have Canford Cliffs, we'd be more than happy to claim Dick Turpin as a legitimate Guineas contender,’ he told www.richardhannonracing.tv
‘He was a big two-year-old and has really blossomed through the winter, filling out in all the right places. Forget his last two runs at the back-end, he is far better than that, and he has been working well this spring.’
John Gosden's Doncaster maiden winner Bullwhip and Rodrigo De Torres, now running for Henry Cecil, complete the field.
