Dashel Drasher more likely to head to Newbury instead of Saturday showdown with Shishkin at Ascot

The drying ground at Ascot, a three-week turnaround and the presence of Shishkin in Saturday's £70,000 Grade 2 1965 Chase mean trainer Jeremy Scott is leaning towards waiting a week with Dashel Drasher, who could be seen next at Newbury's Coral Gold Cup meeting.

Scott would love nothing more than to run the fan favourite over fences, particularly at a track where he has enjoyed four victories from six starts, but can find too many reasons to wait for the Coral Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury on December 1. 

The ten-year-old, who finished second in last season's Stayers' Hurdle, was last seen finishing third in the Grade 2 bet365 Hurdle at Wetherby this month.

Scott said: "I'd love to run him, but I'm concerned about the weather. The ground appears to be drying out all the time. It possibly comes a bit soon and we'll also have an entry at Newbury in the three-mile hurdle, and between ourselves and the owners I think we're unlikely to go to Ascot and more likely to go to Newbury. Of course, the fear is that it's going to get pretty quick if we don't get any rain."

Nicky Henderson on Tuesday morning confirmed Shishkin would head to Ascot rather than Haydock and the nine-year-old is now 4-6 favourite for the 2m5f Grade 2. 

Regarding Shishkin, Scott added: "It probably makes the decision slightly easier. Obviously we want to win races, but I would love to get him over fences and the problem is between now and the middle of January there's nothing Grade 2-wise.

"So you're only really left with the King George or giving lumps of weight away in a handicap. We're very limited on options, the Many Clouds is now a handicap, so if you have a horse like him rated nearly 160 you have very limited options.

"I'm very keen to get him over fences again as I think it'll be very interesting to see how he goes. It mixes it up for him as well and gives him a bit of variety. It's the perfect race for him and I'd love to run him, but I fear the ground and that's probably the biggest issue. If it was coming up good to soft I'd be pushing harder to go."

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