The nine-year-old is back in exercise at Henderson’s Seven Barrows base but the recent dry spell is playing havoc with his intended return to the racecourse.

“He’s back and he looks tremendous,” said Henderson.

“Mick Meagher, who looks after them at (owner) Trevor Hemmings’ stud, has done a great job with him and kept him ticking over in controlled exercise so he has come back, not forward, but at least with something done.

“We are ticking over with him but rain is the crucial thing – we are not getting drawn into making targets.

“With a year off there is no doubt that they can come back. I just think it is important that on their first run back they need to be ready to do it.

“Obviously it is nice to win with them but an awful lot of the injuries are caused by them not being fit, particularly at this time of year – these are dangerous times.

“You have to be incredibly careful and therefore ground is important. We normally get going in November but we have only had a few runners purely because it is too fast,” he told At The Races.