Quick Jack (right)© Photo Healy Racing
Ante-post favourite Quick Jack could bypass the Betfred Cesarewitch at Newmarket on Saturday week if conditions are not suitable.
The talented dual-purpose stayer is one of 64 remaining entries in the second leg of the autumn double as trainer Tony Martin seeks a second victory in the coveted handicap over two and a quarter miles.
Quick Jack was a deeply impressive winner at the Galway Festival on his last outing in July, but his County Meath handler insists the ground at Newmarket can neither be too demanding nor too quick for the five-year-old gelding.
He said: "Ideally, the ground will be yielding, though it wouldn't matter if it came up soft.
"I wouldn't want it heavy and I probably wouldn't run him if it was good to firm.
"As soon as the Galway race was over I thought that the Cesarewitch would be the ideal race for him and I couldn't see the point in taking him anywhere in the meantime as he is a fairly easy horse to keep ticking over at home.
"I have no doubt that he will get the trip. He has got up the hill well at both Cheltenham and Galway so I don't see why the extra two furlongs will be a problem for him."
Martin won the Cesarewitch in 2007 with Leg Spinner and also saddled Arc Bleu and Barba Papa to placed finishes in 2008 and 2000 respectively.
When asked to compare Quick Jack with his previous contenders, Martin said: "They are all good, dual-purpose horses, on the Flat and over hurdles, who are not big enough to be chasers.
"I think that Quick Jack has as much pace as any of the previous trio, maybe more, and he's at least as good as any of the three of them."
Second favourite in the sponsors' betting is Rhombus, who is on a hat-trick following handicap victories at Newmarket and at Newbury.
Pallasator and Retirement Plan are two notable withdrawals from the race.
