- caught the eye last time and the combination of track, trip and ground look ideal for a horse that is 2/2 here

- sets the form standard, has the most experience and they could be vital factors in the conditions. Expected to relish tackling seven furlongs

- signs of life at Newmarket on latest start and handicapper has given him a real chance. Will handle conditions and trainer's first-time headgear record is icing on cake

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There has been plenty of rain around the country this week and even though Saturday is expected to be dry it looks like the soft-ground form book will be the most informative once again.

It makes things tricky, as trying to judge conditions 24 hours in advance isn’t easy, but after 28mm of rain at Ascot on Wednesday and a few more showers forecast on Friday night it looks like the Berkshire venue will be riding soft, or at least on the soft side of good, for the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup.

That makes the likes of Rakes Progress and Reachforthestars interesting in the Shergar Cup Classic at 3.25, but the hot-favourite Contango also likes it soft and I’m loathe to take him on under Kerrin McEvoy as he bids to maintain the perfect start to his career.

Instead, I’d rather wait until the last contest of the six-race card, the Shergar Cup Sprint, before striking a bet, as quite a few of the field need the ground to dry out markedly but that’s not the case for Richard Fahey’s PRIVATE MATTER and he’s worth backing at 12/1 (Ladbrokes, 10s General).

As a juvenile he peaked in the second half of the campaign and he ran his best race on his final start at two, when winning the Listed Prix Zeddaan at Maisons-Laffitte in soft ground at the end of October.

Rated 106 at the start of his three-year-old career after that, he’s struggled, but there was a clear sign of something last time at Newmarket when he was just over three lengths behind winning stablemate The Feathered Nest in seventh place.

Dropping 10lb to a mark of 96 certainly helped – and he’s down another 2lb to 94 on Saturday – while he would’ve finished at least a little bit closer but for major interference a furlong from home.

The most encouraging aspect of his performance was how he kept on after being hampered, as he could easily have chucked the towel in but stayed on nicely enough.

This looks a slighter weaker race and if he does handle the ground better than the majority of his rivals he’s well-handicapped enough to get this won.

The icing on the cake could be the first-time hood, as Fahey’s record with horses running in first-time headgear is +£110.30 to £1 level stakes for the last five years (thanks to boffins at Timeform for that particular stat.)