Hat-trick on the cards for Loder

Money doesn't always buy long-term success in racing - just ask David Loder.

The man who runs Godolphin's nursery in Newmarket has, by all accounts, made a radical change to his teaching methods this season.

Rather than encourage precocious pupils to maximise their talents from day one, Loder has kept the homework to a minimum in the hope that patience will pay dividends when the class joins Saeed Bin Suroor at the nearby Moulton Paddocks complex.

The transition hasn't been entirely smooth, with several expensive purchases failing to pass the racecourse test, but Almushahar's debut in a maiden at Newmarket last month was straight from the Loder old school. Word around town that day was that the impeccably-bred Silver Hawk colt had been shaping like a senior among infants on the gallops.

Backed as if defeat was out of the question, he duly knew exactly what was being asked of him and lengthened smoothly up the hill to get the better of Maghanim by a length and a half as the pair forged clear.

From a tactical point of view tomorrow's Rothmans Royals Champagne Stakes looks straightforward to weigh up.

Puma has looked a resolute front-runner in winning three from three for Richard Hannon, while Mark Johnston's Ascot winner Garros is also likely to help force things from an early stage.

The highly-regarded Indian Haven and the easy Haydock winner Wizard Of Noz are potential dark horses, while Salcombe's high cruising speed will stand him in good stead as he steps up in class.