Bank looking to Beat the field in Lockinge

Beat The Bank is expected to make his seasonal return in the Lockinge Stakes on May 19.

Last year’s Sir Henry Cecil Stakes winner has won four of his six starts but struggled on his last outing, finishing 10th in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot.

After a comfortable winter, the son of Paco Boy is now ready to return and trainer Andrew Balding fancies him for a run at Newbury.

The Kingsclere handler says he is likely to go straight to the Lockinge and is confident he will be ready to hit the ground running after his exploits last season.

He said: “He worked nicely on Wednesday morning and the plan is to go straight to the Lockinge. That was always the plan.

“He runs well fresh. He had a long season last season and hopefully he will last a bit longer into the season starting later.

“We are toying with the idea of giving him an away day but we will make a decision regarding that after the weekend.”