Dark Ranger will bid to go one better in the £50,000 Betfred Cesarewitch Trial (3.55pm) at Newmarket on Saturday, September 22, after finishing second to Cosimo de Medici in the two and a quarter mile contest 12 months ago.
Dark Ranger will face 19 rivals in a rare opportunity to run over the course and distance of the £160,000 Betfred Cesarewitch, which takes place on Dubai Future Champions Day, Saturday, October 13.
The six-year-old, trained by Tim Pitt, started this season in very good form with two placed efforts at Kempton in January and February over two miles on Polytrack and returned from a three-month break for a career-best run behind Cloudy Spirit over two and a quarter miles at York's Dante Festival in May.
He couldn't build on that when ninth in the two and a half mile Ascot Handicap at Royal Ascot in June and failed to fire again on his latest start when sixth of seven at the same course on July 27.
Pitt, who is based in Newmarket, said: "Dark Ranger is very well in himself. Things haven't gone right for him this year since he ran a career best at York in May. He saw too much light at the Royal Meeting and the pace wasn't great the last day, which didn't suit.
"After that we took him back and said we finished second in this race last year, admittedly off a lot lower mark, and that we will try and win it with the view of going to the Betfred Cesarewitch.
"We might need a bit of help getting in the Betfred Cesarewitch itself but the trial is a race well worth aiming for.
"He has gone well fresh in the past and that's one of the things I said to the owners when we decided to give him a break. He has gone well for me after a break, even during his three-year-old days.
"Off that mark we have got something to prove, but if we get a nice run race and he drops in and settles, he will always run his race."
Dark Ranger, who will be partnered by Martin Lane, will lock horns again with last year's third Gordonsville, 2009 victor Bernie The Bolt, trained by Andrew Balding, and last week's Mallard Handicap runner-up Nanton.
Other notable runners include Dazinski, who is one of two contenders for Mark Tompkins and finished third in a competitive York handicap in August, Amanda Perrett's hat-trick seeking six-year-old Saborido and Mick Channon's unexposed New Youmzain.
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