Easter Classic winner Victory Bond makes his return at Kempton

Victory Bond returns from a break to try to boost his superb all-weather record in the Listed British Stallion Studs EBF Hyde Stakes (6.40) at Kempton.

The William Haggas-trained five-year-old was the leading money earner during last season’s all-weather championships largely thanks to his victory in the £200,000 Easter Classic on Good Friday.

James Doyle, rider of Victory Bond, said: "It’s his first run back from a break. William [Haggas] has been aiming him at an all-weather campaign. He is drawn well, and the race should set up nicely for him."

The horse he beat on Good Friday, Master The World, emphasised his liking for the surface with a second win in the Churchill Stakes at Lingfield on Saturday, so Victory Bond is expected to again take high rank in this year's all-weather season.

Watch Victory Bond's Easter Classic win

Classy handicapper Flaming Spear, who is owned by Brighton and Hove Albion chairman Tony Bloom, enters the race as the highest-rated horse and bids to gain a first win in Listed company.

His trainer Dean Ivory said: "Flaming Spear is fit and well after his run in the Balmoral. I'd like to think he'll run a big enough race, but you can never be completely sure as he can be a bit troublesome in the stalls.

"A mile might be stretching him, although it's hard to say because he has won over a mile a couple of times.

"He has been lightly raced during the summer with a view to running on the all-weather and seeing where we are with him. If he were to win, myself and the owners will have to put a game plan together."

Straight Right and Pactolus go into the £45,000 race seeking hat-tricks, while Cambridgeshire third Via Via makes his first start for his Stuart Williams.

Queenohearts out to upset the boys

Maiden hurdles in November are always hotly anticipated and in Champion Bumper also-ran Know The Score and Sandown Listed bumper winner Queenohearts, a couple of potentially smart types are set to clash at Chepstow (1.10).

Queenohearts make her debut over hurdles at ChepstowCredit: Mark Cranham

Stuart Edmunds, who trains the five-year-old mare Queenohearts, said on Tuesday: “She’s schooled very well and we’re very happy with her. We’re going to Chepstow because it's the right sort of track on the right ground.

"We would have preferred to have gone against mares, but at the minute with the ground as it is, we’re going there. We’ll just see how we go. We’re not going to get too excited yet, but she jumps well at home.”

Absent veterans

The Veterans’ Chase Series, first trialled in 2015, has been widely applauded by many as an excellent initiative for the respected and very much adored chasers who would otherwise struggle to find winnable opportunities as they enter the twilight years of their racing careers.

However, only three runners head to Warwick for leg nine of this year’s series (3.10), including Exitas and Beat That, who finished first and second in another leg of the series at Aintree last month.

Exitas: one of just three runners in leg nine of the Veterans' Chase seriesCredit: Grossick Racing

Warwick clerk of the course Jane Hedley is philosophical about the lack of runners in the £30,000 contest.

She said: “It’s a symptom of prevailing good ground. We have nice good ground here, but it's not any slower than that – people at this stage of the season want it slower than that. What can you do? There are only so many horses who are able to run on good ground and better."

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