Alphonse Le Grande set to bid for a slice of history as Tony Martin sets out Cesarewitch plan

Alphonse Le Grande will bid to become the first ever horse to land back-to-back wins in the Club Godolphin Cesarewitch (3.40) next weekend as Tony Martin gears the consistent stayer up for another crack at the £175,000 contest.

Connections of the six-year-old endured a rollercoaster of emotions in the aftermath of his 33-1 surprise success last year when trained by Cathy O'Leary, the sister of Martin who took over his string while he served a suspension. 

Alphonse Le Grande prevailed by a nose in a photo-finish with Manxman. However, he was subsequently demoted by the whip review committee three days later after it determined that rider Jamie Powell had used his whip ten times, four over the limit.

As a result, the Simon and Ed Crisford-trained Manxman was promoted to first place but the saga did not end there. The connections of Alphonse Le Grande lodged an appeal and it was found by the independent panel that Powell's attempt to use his whip for the tenth time was "unavoidable contact, which could not have had any material impact on the performance of the horse" and did not constitute a strike.

Powell was handed a 20-day suspension but Alphonse Le Grande was reinstated as the winner.

• Cesarewitch to be celebrated in Cheltenham as appeals panel sensationally gives prize back to Alphonse Le Grande 

Alphonse Le Grande has raced three times since, finishing midfield in a Curragh handicap on his return before an unlucky eighth in the Ascot Stakes in June under Jamie Spencer. On his latest run, he was beaten three lengths into fifth under William Buick by Santorini Star at York's Ebor meeting.

Martin is keen for him to contest the 2m2f contest again off a 6lb higher mark than his win 12 months ago. The Meath trainer saddled Leg Spinner to win the race under Johnny Murtagh in 2007 and Alphonse Le Grande is a 10-1 chance to become the first horse to win the race in successive years. 

The only horse to ever have won it twice was Aaim To Prosper, who scored in 2010 and 2012 for Brian Meehan.

Martin said: "The plan is for Alphonse Le Grande to go over after having a couple of good runs this year. He got plenty of luck in the race 12 months ago with no trouble in running but then he met a couple of hiccups this year at Ascot and York, but ran well both times. He's been in good form and we're keen to get him out again."

Martin has two other entries in Zanndabad and Hamsiyann, who both run in the Pete Davies colours. They can be backed at 16-1 and 20-1 respectively and a decision on their participation will be made on Monday.

"We'll know about who we're bringing and jockey plans on Monday at the confirmation stage, but we're happy with Alphonse and the plan is to run at the moment," Martin added. "We'll see with Zanndabad and Hamsiyann. We'll look at how they've been over the weekend as there's a few other options for them."

Club Godolphin Cesarewitch Handicap (3.40 Newmarket, Saturday)
Ladbrokes: 7 East India Dock, 8 Alphonse Le Grande, Pendragon, Reverend Hubert, 10 Belgravian, Bunting, Hipop De Loire, 12 Beylerbeyi, 14 Many Men, 16 bar. 

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