Father Time on Leger trail

Henry Cecil has been pleased with the progress his Ladbrokes St Leger hopeful Father Time has been making since his impressive display at Royal Ascot.

The Dansili colt powered away with the King Edward VII Stakes in June and has been given a break since.

He will have his final race before the Classic in the Great Voltigeur at York next week and Cecil could not be happier.

"The plan since Ascot has been the St Leger," Cecil told his website, www.henrycecil.com.

"We gave him a short break after Ascot and decided that the Voltigeur was the perfect race to see where we're at with him.

"He seems to be progressing nicely both mentally and physically and is very happy in himself."

Father Time is a 6-1 chance with the sponsors for the final Classic of the season, although Cecil could have a possible dark horse for the race in 19-length Newmarket winner Manifest.

"He won really nicely but he has had only two races so I do not want to take on older horses," added Cecil.

"I haven't yet ruled out the St Leger but we'll have to see what Father Time does as he runs for the same connections (Prince Khalid Abdullah)."