Wetherby feature seems likely to suit Grandads Horse

The progressive seven-year-old has won two of his four starts over fences and was not disgraced last time when seventh of 16 in a hotly-contested Listed handicap chase at Market Rasen at the end of last month.

Longsdon, who has been operating at a 54 per cent strike rate over the last 14 days, reported: “Grandads Horse is relatively inexperienced over fences, but it’s a slight drop in grade from the race he ran in at Market Rasen and everything should suit him.

“He walked through the last in the back straight at Market Rasen and was virtually tailed off and then ran on again, so there should be plenty of improvement to come once he gets his jumping right.

“The drop back in trip won’t hinder him and the most important thing is that there will be a slower pace than there was at Market Rasen, which will help him most of all.”

Grandads Horse, who has top-weight of 11st 12lb, will face seven opponents who are headed by recent winners Dorset Naga, trained by Anthony Honeyball, and the Lucinda Russell-trained Rudemeister.

Ahead of Ascot’s Champions Day on Saturday, James Doyle is excited at the prospect of teaming up with Hot Snap for the first time in the Qipco British Champions Fillies’ And Mares’ Stakes.

The rider gets the leg up on the Lady Cecil-trained three-year-old in his capacity as retained jockey to owner Khalid Abdullah.

The daughter of Pivotal began the season in tremendous fashion when winning the Nell Gwyn Stakes at Newmarket in April, but was then unplaced in the 1000 Guineas when sent off favourite.

“She seems to be in good order. I galloped her a couple of weeks ago and she seemed to be in good form,” said Doyle yesterday.

Dawn Approach is reported to be in tip-top shape as he prepares to try to win at Ascot for a third time when he line up for the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.

Jim Bolger’s 2000 Guineas hero has been successful in two previous visits to the Berkshire track, in the Coventry Stakes and 
St James’s Palace Stakes, and bids to make it three in Europe’s richest mile race.

Winner of his first seven starts and eight races in all from 11 starts, the three-year-old colt is on a retrieval mission after being found to be sick after finishing unplaced behind Moonlight Cloud in the Prix Jacques Le Marois at Deauville in August.

“I am hopeful that he will be able to cope with the softer ground but we won’t be sure until after the race,” said County Carlow-based Bolger.

Hydrogen, the unraced £2.5m horse, appears unlikely to run in the Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster on Saturday week, with connections instead opting for a low key debut in a Newbury maiden.

The Peter Chapple-Hyam-trained juvenile, who was the most expensive yearling sold anywhere in the world in 2012, has yet to race competitively after he suffered a setback earlier in the year.

David Redvers, racing manager for his owners Qatar Racing Limited, said: “We should see him, all being well, in two weeks in a Newbury maiden.

“I saw him do another piece of work the other morning under Jamie Spencer and he worked with a very fast lead-horse and went extremely well.”