Roger Charlton has warned that 2000 Guineas gamble Top Offer will not take his chance in the Newmarket Classic if he is not ready to run in a trial beforehand.
The son of Dansili justified support when making an impressive racecourse debut at Newbury last August, but an injury shortly afterwards brought his juvenile campaign to an abrupt end.
The Greenham Stakes at Newbury on 21 April is his most likely starting point at this stage but Chartlon is cautious: "I think it's worth bearing in mind that he won a maiden race and probably ran to a figure in the mid 90s."
Charlton added: "To deal with a Classic he's got to be closer to 120, so there's got to be massive improvement.
"It's very unfortunate he got injured last year and wasn't able to contest a conditions race. Had he won a conditions race, you'd have ended up in a Group race and he'd know more and I'd know more.
"At the moment we're still in the dark and it would be a mistake to ramp a horse up mentally and work-wise just to get him to the Greenham fitter than everything else."
Charlton continued: "He'll come when he's ready and if he's ready for the Greenham he'll run. If he's not, we'll find something else.
"He wouldn't go straight to the Guineas. He'd need to run in a trial and he'd need to come out of the trial well, bearing in mind it is only two weeks from the Greenham to the Guineas."
"It's a big pressure, but it's a long season and I try not to mess things up by forcing things if they're not quite ready."
