Friday 27 August 2021 16:30, UK
Judicial is out to add to his fan club by winning the William Hill Beverley Bullet for a second time.
Now nine, the Julie Camacho-trained sprinter has won 17 of his 44 races and showed he is every bit as good as ever when winning a Listed contest at Chester last time out.
That means he is conceding upwards of 3lb to his rivals - but now that he is back in the winning grove he certainly sets the standard.
While Judicial may be getting on a bit he still has some way to go to match Take Cover's exploits, who won the Beverley showpiece back-to-back as a 10- and 11-year-old in 2017-18.
Camacho's partner and assistant Steve Brown said: "He certainly looked back in good heart at Chester and frankly it was a bit of a relief to see what we hoped we might see.
"He did have an excuse first time out at Newmarket when he lost a shoe, but the time after at Beverley we were scratching our heads a bit.
"It seems to be a race older horses have a good record in so hopefully we can continue that trend - it would be lovely if he could."
Clive Cox's Tis Marvellous is having a rare run away from Ascot.
Cox admits his charge saves his best for the Berkshire venue, but on his only visit to Beverley he was in the process of going very close in the Bullet won by Judicial as favourite, only to meet trouble in running.
"He is a real yard favourite and he's so consistent. It is fair to say he does, generally, save his best performances for Ascot, but he's equally able to produce the goods elsewhere," said Cox.
"He didn't get a lot of luck last time he ran in the Bullet, but he's in good order and I'm pleased he's he's lining up.
"It's an age-old saying that's very true, I think. Horses for courses is probably one of the most important facts in racing.
"He's in excellent form and I hope he can produce another good performance."
Last year's winner Dakota Gold lines up for Michael Dods after running in the Nunthorpe last week, while Great St Wilfrid winner Justanotherbottle steps up in grade.
Paul Midgley runs two in Tarboosh and Ostilio, while James Tate and Karl Burke are also doubly represented. Tate runs Wise Words and Show Yourself, who has already won three over course and distance, while Burke has Dandalla and Significantly, both Royal Ascot winners.
"I'm looking forward to seeing Significantly run as he's in good form, has a good draw and if he breaks on terms he should run very well," said Burke.
"As a younger horse we always thought he wanted holding up and producing late, but he's much better being allowed to stride on.
"He's really improved this year and hopefully there's more to come.
"With Dandalla we were training her earlier on this season to see if she would get seven furlongs.
"She's really strengthened up though and Jamie Spencer said he felt like a four-year-old colt, not a three-year-old filly.
"Over six she's just been too keen to do herself justice so we're just going to let her run over a stiff five and see how she gets on."
