The idea of the “duty vicar” or “duty priest” at cremations, ever ready to say a few well-chosen words at the funeral of an atheist they didn’t know from Adam, profoundly dishonours the dead. It would be, in any other circumstances, bizarre.But we, in our turn, cling to the churches, even though, again, there is an alternative. The British Humanist Association will provide officials to preside at secular send-offs, but demand is slight. In part our continued reliance on religion is merely the living wanting to hedge both their own bets and those of the person who has died.

Like the biblical workers in the vineyard who come at the eleventh hour and demand the same wages as those who have toiled all day, they want, after a lifetime’s apostasy, to give a nod in the direction of God, just in case And it is also a craving for a format that is familiar. There is, despite it all, a certain beauty to “The Lord Is My Shepherd”, an air of promise in “Nearer My God To Thee” which I have not heard reproduced at alternative services, with home-spun poems and tape recorders playing Bette Midler singing “The Wind Beneath My Wings”. Such efforts grate because they appear to belittle the life that has ended, to reduce it to the sort of dull, formulaic platitudes you read in horoscope columns. “My soul he doth restore again and me to walk doth make” is a handsome thing to say. By contrast, “Johnnie has passed over on to the other side” has a blandness that makes your whole soul shrink inside you.Perhaps the answer is for each of us to draw up a few basic stipulations for our own funeral – if, indeed, we want one at all.

You know Ian Pollock’s illustrations from magazines and newspapers, including The Independent. The colours are bright, liquid and luscious, while his figures are raw and distorted, the stuff of nightmares. The trouble with commercial illustration, he says, is that editors tend to want more of what they have seen before. So in his spare time he has illustrated the Bible’s 40 parables, in watercolour, ink and gouache.
An attempt to get away from the horror? Hardly. The biblical world of the parables, he discovered, is full of violence and rough justice “This has been my way of keeping my edge rough,” he says “Sometimes I feel quite in awe of the parables They are nasty stories, damning and unforgiving. The Bible addresses the harshness of nature, the culling of the inferior, the condemnation of the failure to procreate I like the idea.

It’s so wicked.”Artists of the past, even the Old Masters, have preferred the story of the crucifixion to the parables. That said, the prodigal son, the good Samaritan, the rich man and Lazarus, have been depicted many times before, and Bosch and Brueghel knew how to paint horrors.Pollock, 49, who graduated from the Royal College of Art, claims to know nothing of past parable painters. But as a child in Manchester in the Fifties he experienced the kind of harsh judgements of nature that the parables seem to applaud. His father made clay pipes, loading 40 or 60 gross into his coal-fired kiln every month – and sometimes the lot was ruined.”He would come back covered in soot and say either, `We’ve had a good burn’ or `It’s gone wrong.’ If it went wrong there would be a dreadful atmosphere in the family for weeks.”A moment’s inattention, the wrong temperature, bad coal, or a gusty wind, and nature took its unforgiving revenge, just like in the parables. Is that why he took to them? “If you sat me in a psychiatrist’s chair,” he says, “things might point in that direction.”`The Miracles and Parables’ by Ian Pollock is at the Eich Gallery, Humberside University campus, Hull (01482-462-060), until 14 January. www.eichgallery.abelgratis `The Watchful Servants’, Luke 12:35-40″Happy are those servants whom the master finds on the alert when he comes,” is the message of the tale.

“So interesting, this master-servant hierarchy,” muses Pollock “The waiting is a kind of subjugation It’s still the case – the weaker wait for the more powerful. Employees wait for their employers, students wait for their teachers. It is a vulnerable state.” His pair could be prisoners doing time, down-and-outs waiting for Godot, or, Pollock suggests, laboratory animals waiting for the vivisector.`The Rich Man and Lazarus’, Luke 16:19-31Bad news for the rich. The starving Lazarus goes to Heaven and the rich man who denied him even scraps to eat goes to Hell “It’s that hierarchy again,” says Pollock.

“It’s endemic in the Bible.” His Lazarus is painted with fervour – a crouching blob of flesh covered in sores with protruding bones The dog licks the sores, as do the dogs in the parable. “It’s even more disgusting when you update it to contemporary times. I was reminded of the beggars I saw at the gates of Fez, Morocco They’re not erupting in revolt They know their level. But just what is it that makes one man a beggar and another a Bill Gates? “I feel guilty if I give to a beggar because I believe that people should use their own initiative – but then I feel guilty if I don’t. Is there nothing one can do except donate downwards? I’m part of the hierarchy too; there are people much richer than me, yet there’s always somebody in the next bed worse off than yourself.”`Vineyard and Householder’, Matthew 21:33-42Pollock found this parable unfathomable. Jesus asks his disciples what the owner of a vineyard would do if its tenants murdered his servants and then his son.

Apparently, after Vlad was eventually beheaded by rival Boyar rulers the monks felt obliged to bury his body in a tomb on the island. The tomb bears no inscription but, when the body was exhumed in the 1930s, it was exquisitely dressed in the manner of a medieval ruler, and had been decapitated Motor boats are available but only from May to October. Outside the summer months, tours can be arranged through the Company of Mysterious Journeys in Bucharest (00 40 12314022). To book in the UK, contact the Romanian Travel Centre (01892 516901), which also offers a “Five-Day Dracula Tour”.Anthony Spitteler. `The Mother Superior says no one told her you’d be arriving today.

She’s sorry but you won’t be able stay.” Teddy, an English-speaking guide for Bucovina Estur by day, and football-playing bass guitarist by night, looked as though he was about to burst into tears as he put down the phone. My spirits sank as I thought of the tired, state-run hotels with their shabby decor and chillingly impersonal staff. I had flown to the far north of Romania from Bucharest to visit the painted monasteries of Southern Bucovina. I had set my heart on staying within the fortified walls of Dragomirna Monastery.
Designated a world heritage site by Unesco in 1993, these magnificent Orthodox citadels were built during the 15th and 16th centuries at the instigation of Stephen the Great to ward off would-be Turkish invaders.”Is there nothing you can do?” I pleaded.

“I’ll try the community at Sucevita for you.” Teddy picked up the phone again and called the operator “They say it’s OK.” He looked relieved. “But I’ll tell your driver to show you a couple of the private houses on the way – in case you change your mind.” Teddy handed me a leaflet on Casa Lucretia, a large house set on a hill, with pictures of pine beds, log fires, a Jacuzzi and local people in traditional dress frolicking in a bucolic landscape.Thanking him I set off with Ovide, relieved to be leaving behind Suceava’s belching factories and cold, grey buildings. The original 18th and 19th century houses had been razed during the rapid industrialisation of the town in the 1950s and 1960s, and replaced by the institutional monotony of the present concrete constructions. The human price of the industrialisation is Suceava syndrome: toxic emissions from the pulp and paper works have left many people suffering from respiratory and nervous disorders.Once the stately capital of the region, Suceava is now used primarily by visitors as a base from which to explore the monasteries and fortified churches that are scattered among the sprawling hills of Bucovina or “beech- covered land”.As the monasteries form a natural loop to the west of Suceava, hiring a car and driver is the simplest way to explore the region, although in the summer months many visitors choose to hike from monastery to monastery across the mountains.Driving across the wintry landscape, we passed villages where the houses were topped with tin foil roofs and featured carved gateways and ornate wells. The streets were empty except for the occasional horse and cart, or the odd person huddled in sheepskins, head down against the biting cold.Our first stop was Voronet, dubbed the “Sistine Chapel of the East”.

The outside walls of the monasteries’ central churches were painted with frescoes, their images intended as a form of education for the local illiterate peasants. A mixture of Byzantine art and folk lyricism, cartoon-style figures act out Biblical scenes against the backdrop of the local Carpathian landscape.Famed for a striking blue pigment, “Voronet blue”, a fresco of the Last Judgement covers the entire west wall of the church. Angels and devils push sinners into the flames, while Christ sits in majesty. To create these scenes the artists used natural dyes to produce reds (made from an herbaceous plant) blues (from lapis lazuli) and yellows (from sulphur) and, amazingly, most of the frescoes remain intact, 450 years later, beneath the shelter of the churches’ mushroom-shaped roofs.As I wandered around the church, a nun dressed in long black robes approached me and held out her hand for money. The minimal fee for photography was duly paid and she nodded curtly and drifted noiselessly away. Jumping back into the car, Ovide stubbed out his cigarette and we accelerated down the deserted road towards Humor.The smallest of the monasteries, Humor has no tower and it is surrounded by wooden ramparts rather than stone fortifications. The interior, however, hides frescoes which are the most impressive of all those in Bucovina’s monasteries and the sense of peace is almost tangible.

But when he brought in a group of experts to taste them blind almost 20 years on, they couldn’t tell the difference. Seysses’ theory is that “during transportation, the small volume of air between wine and cork creates more oxidation in a bottle than a magnum, and only then is the ageing process affected”.
Bollinger keeps all its older wines in magnums, because, according to managing director, Ghislain de Montgolfier, “the best balance between air and wine is a magnum”. Before blending with the latest vintage for consistency, this “reserve wine” is deliberately kept lightly sparkling because the carbon dioxide gas, which creates the bubbles, acts as a preservative. Bollinger is the only champagne house to do this and one of the few not to sell champagne in magnums.
Looking at what’s on the shelf, the millennium magnum is something of a hit-and-miss affair.

I was disappointed, for instance, with the two white burgundy magnums on offer at Waitrose: one a dull bourgogne from Boisset, the other a mediocre example of chablis from the normally reliable Chablisienne co-op. Why pay £15.99, when for a penny less, you can have two bottles of the 1998 St Véran Domaine de Curis from Louis Jadot?
To make up for it, the 1991 Cosme Palacio Tinto Rioja (£19.95, Waitrose; Oddbins Fine Wine have the 1989, £24.99, and 1992, £19.99) is not just a splendid-looking creature in its own right, but deliciously smooth with a mature liquorice and aniseed spice bouquet and a rich, velvety texture and smoky maturity. More youthful but also intriguing is a nice, rustic red burgundy from the Cÿte d’Or, a 1997 Gevrey Chambertin (£29.99, Tesco).
Penfolds have made two special magnum bottlings, both of which offer oodles of fruit flavours. First, the blackberryish 1997 Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz/Cabernet (£12.99, Safeway, Majestic, Wine Cellar, Oddbins – coming soon), and second, the spicy, rich 1998 Penfolds Bin 2 Shiraz/Mourvÿdre (£13.99, Tesco).
Magnums of fizz make great gifts.

According to farmer Judy Goodman, demand is “going beserk”, as more people appreciate that this bolshie bird “is the one thing left in the whole food industry that is still seasonal and free range”. Regular customer Shaun Hill concurs, adding: “Simple roast goose is best. Just braise some green or brown lentils with bacon and onion to go with it.”Where from: Walsgrove Farm, Great Witley, Worcester, Worcs (01299 896272 Last orders: 20 Nov. How much: pounds 48.95 (5.5kg) incl p&p.WILD SMOKED SALMONThe best salmon may come from Scotland, but, according to Shaun Hill, the best salmon smokers are to be found in East London’s Jewish firms. “Forman’s large sides of smoked wild salmon are a treat, like caviar,” he says. “Most of the supermarket stuff is flavourless sandwich filling.” Chez Lorna Wing, it would be served for breakfast with scrambled eggs and toasted bagels.

“Forman’s smoked salmon has a distinctive but not obvious flavour, and I love its velvety texture,” she says.Where from: by Forman’s at Morel Bros, Unit 7, 129 Coldharbour Lane, London SE5 (0171-346 0046); also Mortimer & Bennett (see No 10) Last orders: 10 Dec. How much: pounds 55.80 per 910g side plus p&p.VACHERIN CHEESEPeeling away the top crust of Vacherin and scooping out the rich, creamy filling is an essential winter ritual for cheese connoisseurs. “The arrival of new-season Vacherin remains an event in a way that most cheese seasons no longer are,” says Shaun Hill. Jeroboam’s Vacherin Selection pack contains a 500g pine-boxed cheese plus a pack of Wheat Wafers, a savoury cracker that provides a good counterpoint to the unctuous, resiny sweetness of the cheese.Where from: Jeroboam’s Mail Order, 8-12 Brook St, London W1 (0171-727 9792); also The Fine Cheese Co (see Nos 18 & 28). Last orders: 16 Dec.How much: pounds 22.50 plus p&p.TRACKLEMENTS CONDIMENTSWilliam and Guy Tullberg, father and son, have built a thriving company on their simple desire to find things that go well with roast chicken. They have won several Great Taste Awards for their efforts, including a prize this year for the strong horseradish with cream, a delicious partner for any festive beef.

Soho Cooking by Alastair Little (Ebury Press, £25), also has lots of good recipes, mixed with a dash of cheffiness and a pinch of London history. But committed carnivores who love messing about in the kitchen will gain endless delight from the like-minded Nose to Tail Eating: a kind of British cooking by Fergus Henderson (Macmillan, £20).
Everyday cooking
Given the proliferation of chef’s books this year, it is pleasing to find a few books that cater for the ordinary home cook. The best is Tamarind & Saffron by Claudia Roden (Viking, £18,99). It is full of simple, appealing recipes, such as spinach and yoghurt salad or quails with grapes. However, those seeking something new should also look at Cook at Home with Peter Gordon (Hodder & Stoughton, £25). He is a master at introducing new ingredients; you never know where it will lead you.
Vegetable addicts
Vegetables are obviously “in” this year given the plethora of vegetarian and semi-vegetarian cookbooks published.

The Café Paradiso Cookbook by Denis Cotter (Atrium, £20) is superb. Every page is filled with useful information, interesting ideas and good recipes. The Big Red Book of Tomatoes by Lindsey Bareham (Michael Joseph, £17.99) is essential for anyone who cooks. It’s chock-a-block with everyday recipes from soups and stews to hangover cures.
Day-dreamers
No bookshelf is complete without one or two books that allow you to toy with thoughts of another life.

The African Kitchen by Josie Stow and Jan Baldwin (Conran Octopus, £18.99) is filled with beautiful photographs of the South African bush and intriguingly delicious (and practical) African-inspired recipes. Fork to Fork by Monty and Sarah Don (Conran Octopus, £20) links garden to kitchen. The recipes are homely and the pictures lovely: wet dogs and cabbages.
Stocking-fillers
I had to include two whimsical volumes which are perfect for creating a knobbly Christmas stocking. The Dinner Question, or How to Dine Well & Economically (1860) by Tabitha Tickletooth (Prospect Books, £12.99) is an amusing 19th-century satirical cookbook, perfect for a rainy afternoon. Esquire Handbook for Hosts, edited by Peter Howarth (Thorsons, £12.99) was written in the Fifties and will appeal to those with a wry sense of humour. It includes advice on how to make Welsh rarebit and how to make yourself attractive to women – obviously a must.
Sybil Kapoor is the author of the award-winning ‘Simply British’ (Penguin, £7.99). Pastry 60g/21/2oz unsalted butter, softened 60g/21/2oz caster sugar 2 medium egg yolks 110g/4oz plain flour, sifted 25g/1oz ground almondsFilling
250g/9oz cream cheese 450g tin chestnut pur?0g/4oz demerara sugar 150ml/5fl oz double cream 3 medium eggs, beaten 3 tbsp ginger syrup 1 knob stem ginger, finely sliced and then chopped cocoa for dustingFor the pastry, cream the butter and sugar together and beat in the egg yolks.

(This can be done in a food processor.) Add the flour and ground almonds and when the dough begins to form a ball, wrap it in cling film and chill for at least an hour Preheat the oven to 190°C/ 375°F/Gas 5. Roll out the dough in a circle to fit a 20cm/8in cake tin (with a removable base), and line it. Prick the pastry with a fork and bake for 12 minutes or until golden Allow to cool.Reduce the temperature to 150°C/300°F/ Gas 2. For the filling, blend the cream cheese and chestnut purée in a bowl. Add the sugar, cream, beaten eggs and ginger syrup and beat until smooth Sieve and add theginger.

Well, nobody has yet looked to be.After July, Bacher will continue to look after issues concerning TV and the media and the national team. But by next April he will concentrate wholly on organising the 2003 World Cup, which is to be held in South Africa. There has been covert whispering among others about that, too “Who’s qualified?” mutter white followers of the game. No appointment has yet been made but he or she, to Bacher’s approval, pleasure and probably insistence, will definitely be black.

In July he will become executive director of the United Cricket Board and his present position of managing director will be filled by someone else. And another question gets a regular outing among South African journalists now that the African Nations’ Cup is underway: “How many white men are in the football team and shouldn’t we have a quota?” The answer, incidentally, seems to be two, which meets the corresponding blacks quota requirement all right.Bacher seems to remain full of confidence Yet while he is not going quietly, he is going. They are worried that it will mean weakening South Africa on the field. “Two years, no more,” is a common cry, “then we must pick the strongest team.”"Football tends to be the sport of blacks,” is another oft-repeated sentence. A sop perhaps but a powerful one.The quota system seems a natural way of hurrying the process of ensuring the previously disadvantaged have an equal chance But in private it has few supporters, at least among whites. A letter to the United Cricket Board from selector, Gerald Majola, prompted him to go.This wrangle (and others) could probably have been avoided if a black president had been appointed at the time White was elected.

For the first time in soccer, the deal gives women on a national team the same salary as men.John Langel, the players’ lawyer, said the players would get part ownership of a league planned to start in April 2001.No other major sports league in the United States allows players to be part owners.The US team begins preparations on Sunday for the Sydney Olympics, with an exhibition game against Norway, in Florida.Mia Hamm, perhaps the best-known player on the World Cup champions, said the boycott was worth it.”This is something we all felt strongly in. Players on the US women’s soccer team will be part owners of a league planned to start next year, the first such arrangement for any major professional sport in the country. Players on the US women’s soccer team will be part owners of a league planned to start next year, the first such arrangement for any major professional sport in the country.
The World Cup champions, who boycotted two games in a wage dispute, agreed to a five-year contract that raises the minimum monthly salary for star players from $3,150 to $5,000, the US Soccer Federation said on Tuesday. The selected horses will then go to Malcolm Pyrah’s yard in Nottinghamshire for two weeks in quarantine before being flown out to Sydney.Show Jumping World Class Performance Squad: R Bevis, G Billington, D Charles, A Davies, G Goosen, D Lampard, N Skelton, R Smith, T Stockdale, J Whitaker, M Whitaker.. Michael Bullman, chairman of the senior selection committee, believes that riders and horses should be chosen on their international form – so there will be no selection trials in Britain this year.Instead, all 11 members of the World Class squad (and possibly a few others) will be sent on one of three overseas tours: La Baule and Rome in May, Lucerne and Modena, and Madrid, Lisbon and Barcelona in June.British teams will also compete at two July fixtures – the big Aachen meeting in Germany and The Royal International Horse Show at Hickstead, where the Olympic squad is expected to be announced.

Now Whitaker’s Olympic hopes seem to rest with either Flower (now walking out again after recovering from a hairline fracture to her off-hind fetlock last year) and the less experienced Russian-bred Steps Helsinki.These two Whitaker horses will have to prove themselves at Continental shows. The horse had been suffering from a viral disorder which affected his nervous system.
“He was walking round in circles and banging into walls,” Whitaker said of the 11-year-old horse, with whom he won the first leg of the World Equestrian Games in 1998 and the second leg of the World Cup final last year.Heyman, whose career winnings exceeded £149,000, had been identified by the selectors as a World Class Performance squad horse. John Whitaker has lost one of his possible Olympic horses in Virtual Village Heyman, who had to be put down on Monday after a stroke. The horse had been suffering from a viral disorder which affected his nervous system. John Whitaker has lost one of his possible Olympic horses in Virtual Village Heyman, who had to be put down on Monday after a stroke. The American finished in a time of 1min 53.61sec to edge out Hickman by 0.22secIn the women’s events, Martina Moravcova of Slovakia won two events, the 200m freestyle and 200 individual medley, while the American backstroker Barbara Bedford charged away from Australia’s Dyana Calub to win the 50m by 0.37sec.. All I can do is keep on improving to close the gap between us as narrow as possible to give myself a chance and then hope for the best at the Olympics.

But the only genius I ever encountered was Alex Higgins, even though his standard wasn’t as high. With him, it was like the film Pinball Wizard, with the bloke at one with the pinball machine Alex was so in tune with the table. There was real beauty in his game.”He hasn’t mentioned Jimmy White “No, probably because he’s never done me much damage But, yeah, an abundance of talent. His natural ability deserved at least one world championship, and to think that he might never win one must be worrying for all naturally-gifted players Really, he was unfortunate to come across Hendry.

Left-handed, he’d probably be in the top 32 in the world.”Which other players, I wonder, have the kind of talent he covets? “Stephen Hendry, obviously Mark Williams, who is the most amazing tightrope-walker. He’s got to be the most naturally gifted ambidextrous sportsman the world has ever seen. I was brought up in the era of Ray Reardon, Eddie Charlton, Terry Griffiths, Cliff Thorburn, with only Alex Higgins breaking the mould We wouldn’t risk 50-50 pots Instead, we let our opponents make safety errors But with Stephen, the game changed And Ronnie O’Sullivan pushed the barriers back even further O’Sullivan is just astounding. The standard is higher than ever.” Characteristically, he reckons that it was not him but Stephen Hendry who heralded new standards.”Suddenly the game was much less defensive. “Frame times are down, on average, from about 20 minutes to about 12.

So to companies who think snooker is boring, the answer is: ‘It may be boring to you, but there are millions out there who disagree’.”Besides, far from being boring, snooker has never been more exciting, Davis believes. When Jimmy White was in the final of the World Championship not threeor four years ago, the audience peaked at 13 million. Now it is my intention to get off the board as soon as possible. Hopefully, in the hands of business people, things will get sorted. I can’t work out why we can’t get sponsorsfor competitions on terrestrial telly Viewing figures are still great.

He denies both charges.The jury heard that the day after Osborne’s arrest in January 1998, he was contacted by his friend and neighbour, Kim Bailey. The Lambourn trainer had been enduring marriage problems and had hired assistance. The private investigator is charged with trying to obtain dishonestly £500 from Osborne on 21 July 1998, by claiming he could influence allegations against the jockey. Jamie Osborne yesterday spoke from the witness box of his “amazement” when informed by a retired policeman that he could bribe his way out of doping and race-fixing allegations. Jamie Osborne yesterday spoke from the witness box of his “amazement” when informed by a retired policeman that he could bribe his way out of doping and race-fixing allegations.
The former jockey, a first-season trainer, was speaking on day seven of the trial of Bob Harrington. William Hill: 13-8 See More Business, 5-1 Looks Like Trouble, 8-1 Florida Pearl, 12-1 Brother Of Iris, 14-1 Rince Ri, 16-1 Ever Blessed, 20-1 Castle Mane, Go Ballistic, 33-1 othersROYAL & SUNALLIANCE NOVICE CHASE (Cheltenham, 17 March): Coral: 5-1 Gloria Victis, 6-1 Native Upmanship, 7-1 Alexander Banquet, Lord Noelie, 10-1 Norski Lad, 11-1 Castle Sweep, 12-1 Deanos Beeno, Kings Road, 16-1 Saxophone, Up For The Game, Russell Road, 20-1 Zafarabad, Lady Cricket, 25-1 others.

William Hill: 5-1 Gloria Victis, 7-1 Native Upmanship, 10-1 Alexander Banquet, Lord Noellie, Norski Lad, 12-1 Castle Sweep, Kings Road, Deano’s Beeno, 14-1 Saxaphone, Toto Toscato, 16-1 Up For The Game, Slaney Native, Zafarabad, Beau, Arctic Camper, Silver Wedge, 20-1 others.. He has come out of his win at Gowran Park last week really well.”CHELTENHAM GOLD CUP (Cheltenham, 18 March): Coral: 7-4 See More Business, 5-1 Looks Like Trouble, 8-1 Florida Pearl, 16-1 Brother Of Iris, Ever Blessed, 20-1 Go Ballistic, Rince Ri, Castle Mane, 25-1 Legal Right, 33-1 Simply Dashing, Young Kenny, Teeton Mill, Dorans Pride, 40-1 others. He is on target to run in the Grand National trial at Haydock and hopefully the National itself. Nick Henderson’s Dusk Duel will miss the Agfa and go for the Rossington Main Hurdle at Wetherby.Micko’s Dream is still a likely runner in Sunday’s Hennessy Cognac Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown despite holding an engagement in the Grand National trial at Haydock Park at the end of the month.Willie Mullins, his trainer, who is also responsible for Florida Pearl, the 4-5 favourite, said yesterday: “There is prize money down to eighth place in the Hennessy and I don’t see why Micko’s Dream shouldn’t take his chance although I won’t make a final decision until Friday. The entries for the race include Arctic Camper, Norski Lad and Tiutchev. He will be aimed at the Champion Hurdle.”The ground will determine whether King’s Toto Toscato takes part in the Scilly Isles Novices’ Chase. Alan King, his trainer, said: “He’s come out of the Haydock race really well and it makes sense to give it a go if we can.