Martin Pipe will leave his Ladbroke Hurdle running plans as late as possible.
The champion trainer has five entries in the contest at Ascot on Saturday: Polar Red (11st 12lb), Puntal (11st 11lb), Mr Cool (11st 9lb), Bernardon (10st 9lb) and Idaho d’Ox (10st 3lb).
But Puntal is also entered at Ascot on Friday.
Discussing his plans on attheraces, Pipe said: “All five are entered all with plans to run but we’ve got Puntal entered on the Friday and also on Saturday, which gives us a choice – the race on the Saturday or the race on the Friday.
“They’ve all got plenty of weight. They are all handicapped up to the hilt and it will be a tough race.”
Pipe came in for some criticism for switching Horus, ante-post favourite for last Saturday’s Tripleprint Gold Cup, to a race the previous afternoon, which he duly won.
Explaining the tactic the Nicholashayne handler said: “We never want to mislead the punters and we can’t manage without the public and punters – racing wouldn’t exist without them.
“We leave everything to the last moment. We talk to the owners, we talk to Tony McCoy and do all our in-house tests and try and get our horses there 200% so that the public get the best run for their money.
“We try to be very protective with the horses and only run them when they are right – that’s the most important part.
“We try and make the right decision and leave it as late as possible just to help the public and punters.”