Conditions could scupper Drasher’s Ascot date

With ground conditions drying out ahead of Saturday’s 1965 Chase, Dashel Drasher looks set to sidestep the Ascot feature and instead head to Newbury next weekend.

Jeremy Scott’s stable star won the Grade One Ascot Chase two years ago and is a four-time winner from six starts at the Berkshire circuit overall.

Following a satisfactory comeback run when third over hurdles at Wetherby earlier in the month, Scott was keen to send his charge back over the larger obstacles on Saturday – but unsuitable ground, coupled with the likely presence of the brilliant Shishkin, has led to the trainer having a change of heart.

He said: “We’ll have to see what the ground does, but it doesn’t look like there’s much rain around. I think running him over fences, I’d rather be running on the slow side of good and not end up on good ground. That would be our thinking at the moment.

“It’s been so wet and now there’s no rain around. My concern is we end up with a month or six weeks of dry weather, which we’re kind of due, and it will mess all our plans up – but there we are, we can’t do anything about the weather, can we?”

Considering alternative plans, Scott added: “We have Newbury next weekend, where we could run in the hurdle (Long Distance Hurdle). The other thing is it’s actually only three weeks since he ran, so it wouldn’t hurt if we waited another week anyway.

“I was desperately keen to run over fences, but the ground has got to be right, and it’s not helped by Shishkin running either.

“All of these things come into it, but I was keen to run over fences because I think he’s got more to give over fences. The trouble is, after this race on Saturday, you’ve got nothing else other than handicaps until after Christmas.”