Art of persuasion: Sir Mark Prescott has cunning plan to land first Cesarewitch

Leading Emirates Cesarewitch candidate Land Of Oz is not yet guaranteed a run in Saturday's historic £350,000 marathon but his trainer Sir Mark Prescott is giving his all to engineer an opportunity for the well-backed stayer – including persuading the owners of one of his other two entries not to run.

The Heath House trainer has been trying for nearly 50 years to land the 2m2f feature to no avail but has two of the first three in the market this time around.

The Willie Mullins-trained Buildmeupbuttercup is 5-1 favourite for the Cesarewitch but in addition to Land Of Oz, a general 8-1 chance and winner of six races this year, Prescott has the equally well-fancied Timoshenko, who is on a seven-timer, well within the handicap unlike his stablemate and also priced around the 8-1 mark.

Land Of Oz: winner of six races this season and an 8-1 shot for the CesarewitchCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

Distant Chimes is also in the handicap for Prescott but the experienced Newmarket handler has persuaded the Osborne House Syndicate not to run their four-year-old, who racked up four wins on the spin in the summer before finishing last of three at Chepstow in August.

Land Of Oz is currently 37th on the list for the 2m 2f contest, which has a safety limit of 34, but his trainer has spoken of his cunning plan.

He said: "We don't intend to declare Distant Chimes which will hopefully let Land Of Oz in at the bottom. Thanks to the owners, the Osborne House syndicate, for agreeing to it and hopefully it comes off."

Land Of Oz, who will need just two absentees other than Distant Chimes at declaration time to make the cut, was available at 14-1 after his latest win in the Cesarewitch Trial at Newmarket last month but his price has shortened significantly since then.

Prescott said: "Mine never win the Cesarewitch but we'll give it another go. Luke Morris will ride Timoshenko and I have a jockey in mind for Land Of Oz but we'll confirm later this week."

The trainer has had 23 runners in the Cesarewitch this century, with Sea Of Heaven the closest he has come in that spell when third in 2016.

Alleluia: the Cesarewitch chance that got away

Sir Mark Prescott was convinced he was about to have a first Cesarewitch winner in 2001 when Alleluia lined up as 7-2 favourite with a theoretical 19lb in hand against her rivals following victory in the Doncaster Cup, her sixth win of the year.

And that confidence swelled as Alleluia swept to the front three furlongs out under George Duffield. But a furlong later she was swamped by her rivals.

After the race, she was found to have suffered a hairline crack to her pelvis. She never raced again.

Prescott said on Tuesday: "I thought she was a certainty for the race as she'd won the Doncaster Cup but she broke down when she was in front at the Bushes."

Emirates Cesarewitch Stakes card

Get ahead of the game with Get Your Eye In - exclusive Saturday preview content on racingpost.com and the Racing Post mobile app from 2pm on Friday