Mawatheeq is only '50-50' for Newmarket bid

Mawatheeq is likely to bypass the Cambridgeshire Handicap in favour of a trip to France, according to trainer Marcus Tregoning.

The recent Doncaster winner is as short as 12-1 joint second-favourite with both Coral and Stan James for the £160,000 1m 1f cavalry charge at Newmarket on 3 October.

But Tregoning warned: "I'm not certain that he's going to be in the race and, while no decision has been made, I'm not sure the Cambridgeshire is the route to go.

"While it is a valuable race, it is a handicap and you often find that the best horse doesn't win it, because there are a lot of runners and they can find trouble.

"The aim is to get some black type with him. That doesn't matter whether it is this year or next year, but it is only 50-50 that he'll head to Newmarket.

"We are thinking that the Group 3 Cumberland Lodge at Ascot on Sunday week or the Group 2 Prix Dollar at Longchamp on Arc weekend might be where we'd end up. My preference at this stage would be Longchamp."

The Derby-winning handler is also planning to send Goodwood Group 2 winner Finjaan to Longchamp to take on Freddie Head's six-time Group 1 winner Goldikova in the Prix de la Foret on 3 October, while stablemate Askar Tau will be out to supplement his Doncaster Cup success with another in the Prix Du Cadran the following day.

"Askar Tau is in brilliant form," insisted Tregoning. "If you go there with a fresh horse at the end of the season, you usually have 10lb in hand and Askar Tau hasn't had too many races this season."

Cambridgeshire Handicap (Stan James): 10 Antinori, Sirvino, 12 Mawatheeq, Bushman, 14 Applause, Royal Destination, 16 Broomielaw, Tryst, Brief Encounter, Wannabe King, 20 bar.