Alastair Down on Wednesday: The singular team that's after the autumn double.

Byline: Alastair Down

WHEN the Tote decided to put up a pounds 100,000 bonus for any trainer saddling the winner of the Cambridgeshire and the Cesarewitch they must have assumed it was highly unlikely that they would have to cough up.

But Saturday's coronary-inducing short-head victory for Chivalry has ensured there will be a certain laxative quality at Tote House during the run-up to Saturday week's marathon given that Sir Mark Prescott is launching something of a thousand-bomber raid on the event.

When interviewed over the Newmarket public address system after the Cambridgeshire, Sir Mark announced he would be running four in the Ces - a piece of news which made the Tote's PR man Andy Clifton look as if he had just been whacked on the temple with a half-brick.

What is more, Heath House inmates No Refuge and Inglis Drever are favourite and joint second favourite respectively and there must be a fair chance of Prescott's long-suffering staff being part of a share out of pounds 70,000.

Despite Prescott's somewhat fearsome reputation it should be pointed out that many of his staff have been there for donkey's years and he has some outstanding operators in his employ, most notably his assistant William Butler and peerless head groom Colin Nutter.

There were some ecstatic faces among the group of friends who make up the eight shares in Chivalry, but the triumph was not without its sad side. There was a ghost at this feast as one of the shares is in the name of the Executors of Graham Rock and how Rock would have loved this win, a well-backed Cambridgeshire winner that hadn't run since Disraeli was a boy just scraping home under full kitchen-sink drive from the extraordinary George Duffield.

Graham had a racing brain the size of a truck and this most steadfast and loyal of men was part of the Heath House furniture for well over 20 years. How he'd have adored the sheer nerve required to win the race off a 340-day absence and how much the old boy is missed by Sir Mark and the cast of genuine characters who shared this horse and others with Rocky.

Of all the great handicaps the Cambridgeshire has arguably the richest and most colourful history and Saturday's win has to be right up there with the legendary exploits of the Druids Lodge Confederacy.

As short as 8-1 a week before the race, his SP of

14-1 was simply a reflection that while he might have been a good thing on soft ground, the fast ground was always going to be against him. It was a question of whether or not he would, as they say, "go on it once".

Well, he duly did but only just. I had a full packet of cigarettes with two furlongs to run but only three left by the time the result of the photo was announced.

If it helps lift the gloom at the Tote, it should be pointed out that the Cesarewitch has not been a happy hunting ground for Sir Mark. In 1993 his massive grey Hasten To Add was the subject of a major ante-post tilt with which the public joined in on the day, resulting in the horse being sent off 3-1 favourite. He came there to win travelling superbly but his stamina gave out and the bookies were spared a savage caning.

Then, just a couple of years ago, Alleluia was a thrown in at the weights having won the Doncaster Cup on her previous outing.

Summoning up all his guile and charm Sir Mark carefully explained to owner Kirsten Rausing what a handicap was and persuaded her to run the filly. Starting 7-2 favourite, Alleluia was in the process of bolting up when she sustained a hairline fracture of the pelvis and finished a brave sixth

As Sir Mark said "something usually comes along to save the bookies", I just hope that this time they get properly done because I would love to see his staff divvying up that pounds 70,000. The trainer would also cop 30 grand which would go some way towards meeting the annual wine merchant's bill incurred by your intrepid correspondent's visits.

I have backed No Refuge and Numitas which is a tip in itself for Inglis Drever and One Off. The last named would be a suitable winner as Prescott is definitely a one-off and if he trousers the pounds 100,000, I think you'll find that the Tote's bonus proves to be a one-off as well!