BECKHAMPTON trainer 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 plenty of positive vibes when making a most impressive racecourse debut at Newbury last August, but an injury shortly afterwards brought his juvenile campaign to an abrupt end.
He has been the subject of strong support for the Guineas in recent weeks and is now a best-priced 7-1 - but Charlton believes his charge needs to improve hugely on what he has shown so far to be a realistic Classic contender.
The Greenham Stakes at Newbury on April 21 is his most likely starting point at this stage.
"He looks well and he's a very good-moving horse, so I'm not particularly concerned by the current ground," Charlton told At The Races.
"But the whole country is very short of rain and growth of grass and so on, so the training is starting to get a bit restricted.
"We've got a lot of wonderful turf gallops and they are getting very firm, it's ridiculous this early in the year really, but his preparation has gone very well.
"I think it's worth bearing in mind that he won a maiden race and probably ran to a figure in the mid 90s.
"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.
"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."
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