Who Dares Wins in Chester Cup raid

● King’s charge unlucky in running last year but can make amends this time out

Who Dares Wins can make a successful raid on the 188Bet Chester Cup.

It can be mission accomplished for Alan King’s dualpurpose performer after vital reconnaissance in this race 12 months ago.

The Jeremy gelding, owned by the enthusiastic Henry Ponsonby, could be said to be unlucky in the 2017 renewal.

Who Dares Wins was coming with a good-looking run in the final quarter-mile when he was stopped in his tracks.

Although he got going again, it cost him a winning chance and he had to settle for fourth place, just a length and a half behind the winner, Montaly. There is no doubt he acts on the track as he was successful over the extended mile and a half in a handicap in July 2016.

He is 8lb higher in the ratings this time round, but he has improved under both codes. Winner of the Cesarewitch Trial at Newmarket in September, Who Dares Wins ran with great credit at the Cheltenham and Aintree Festivals.

The Chester Cup has been won by smart dual-purpose horses in the past, including Overturn, Donegal Prince and the great Sea Pigeon.

Who Dares Wins can follow suit, despite having been handed a difficult draw in stall 15.

King can also take the consolation race, the 188Bet Chester Plate Handicap, for horses who missed the cut for the feature.

0 Alan King: Chester Cup bid. He runs Coeur De Lion, who failed by only a neck to peg back Medburn Cutler over a similar distance at Newbury three weeks ago.

Eminent can make his class count on his seasonal reappearance in the Homeserve Huxley Stakes.

Martyn Meade’s four-yearold won first time out in the Craven Stakes last season and can repeat the trick this term.

Eminent was a Group Two scorer in Deauville last summer and was far from disgraced in Group One races, culminating in third place behind Decorated Knight in the Irish Champion Stakes on his final start.

Rebecca Rocks shrugged off an 11-month absence when scoring at Windsor three weeks ago and looks a good bet to follow up in the Bill Campbell Memorial Handicap at Lingfield.

The Henry Candy-trained filly was put up 10lb for that success, but she looks to have plenty of scope of improvement as that was only her fifth career start. She could still be ahead of the handicapper.

Adam’s Ale won well over six furlongs at Ripon and Marjorie Fife’s charge can double up back there in the Great Odds No Hype With blacktype.bet Handicap.

Meanwhile, Racing Victoria yesterday issued life bans for three of the eight people found guilty on Tuesday in one of the biggest doping controversies in the Australian thoroughbred horse industry.

Trainer Robert Smerdon and stable workers Greg Nelligan and Denise Nelligan were banned for life for their part in the doping scandal that spanned from 2010 to 2017 and involved an estimated 100 races. Disqualifications were also issued to trainers Stuart Webb (four years), Tony Vasil (three years), Trent Pennuto (two years) and Liam Birchley (one year)andstableworkerdaniel Garland (one year).

Most of the offences related to giving horses a banned sodium bicarbonate mixture before a race. It is said to reduce the build-up of lactic acid and allow the horses to run longer.

Racing Victoria chief Giles Thompson said: “It is imperative that we send the strongest possible message to the small minority who think they can undermine the integrity of our sport. If people choose to try to brazenly cheat the system to gain an unfair advantage over all of the hard-working and committed participants who abide by the rules of racing, then we don’t want them to have a place in our sport.”