Elgin in hat-trick bid at Ascot

Elgin bids to give the high-flying Elite Racing Club a fine end to an amazing year in the Racing Welfare Handicap Hurdle at Ascot on Saturday.

The country's biggest syndicate hit the jackpot when their top-class sprinter Marsha was sold for a record six million guineas at Tattersalls Sales earlier this month.

While Marsha was a dual Group One winner on the Flat, the Alan King-trained Elgin has been doing his bit over hurdles, with victories over this course and distance and in the Greatwood at Cheltenham seeing him take an 11lb hike in the ratings to the head of the valuable handicap.

"The nature of winning races like the Greatwood means you go up in the weights. That's to be expected," said Elite's racing manager Dan Downie.

"The thing is, you don't know how much more improvement there is in him. He tries hard and he seems to be improving with every run, so you just never know where it might stop.

"He's just more proficient all round really. His hurdling is slicker and he's just less green than he was."

Owner JP McManus has a decent hand in the Nicky Henderson-trained Charli Parcs and Bleu Et Rouge from Willie Mullins' stable.

"Charli Parcs ran well the last day at Newbury and Nicky is very happy with him," said McManus's racing manager Frank Berry. "It's a competitive race, but we're hoping for a good run."

"Bleu Et Rouge was a bit disappointing on his first run back, but hopefully he will have come on for the run.

"Willie's been happy with him at home since."

Fergall and Chesterfield ran well in this race 12 months ago, finishing third and eighth respectively, and trainer Seamus Mullins is happy to let the pair try again.

"Chesterfield got bogged down in the mud at Cheltenham in his first run this season," said Mullins. "On genuine soft ground at Ascot I'd expect a much better performance.

"Fergall loves this race. He comes there every year and always runs a big race. He's been working well and we'd be hopeful of a good run."

Evan Williams is hoping his decision to keep the powder dry with Silver Streak will be rewarded when the four-year-old has his first race since making a winning reappearance at Chepstow in mid-October.

"He did it well last time and we just wanted to run him in a handicap off as low a weight as we could," said the Llancarfan trainer.

"He was in the Greatwood, but he would have been out of the weights, so we thought we'd wait for this."

Williams has decided to let Evening Hush take her chance as she gets in towards to the bottom of the handicap on 10st 3lb.

"She got into the weights and it's such a good prize that if you're in the handicap why not run for that kind of money?" he said.

Harry Fry feels Air Horse One has had been given a rough deal by the handicapper for being upped 6lb after making the first four behind Elgin at Ascot and Old Guard at Newbury.

"He has run two good races this season, but although he has finished third and fourth he has ended up going up another 6lb," said Fry.

"This time he will be trying to win off a career-high mark, which doesn't really make sense, but that is the way the handicapping system works.

"He has run well at Ascot before. He has not had a strongly-run race in either of his two runs this season, but I would like to think he will get that on Saturday. I think he is versatile trip-wise, but over two miles he does need a strong pace."

Top Othe Ra looked good when winning at Down Royal and Punchestown last month, before failing at Fairyhouse on his latest start.

However, his trainer Tom Mullins believes the reason for that flop was the horse swallowing a lot of turf that was thrown up.

"He got a lot of kick-back down his throat on the day at Fairyhouse and I'm just putting that run down to that. I'm hoping I can draw a line through it. He's been in good form since," said the County Kilenny handler.

"He'd won his two previous races in good style and the horses that finished around him were there at Fairyhouse, so I'm going with that."