TRAINER Peter Chapple-Hyam will be double-handed in the Group One Lockinge Stakes at Newbury tomorrow when Tariq and Winker Watson take their chance.

Tariq - returns tomorrow from 290-day lay-off

Both horses have already got Group 2 triumphs on their respective CVs, but significantly more will be required this Saturday as they line up in a 12-runner renewal of a race rich in heritage.

For Tariq it will be a comeback after 290 days on the sidelines, while Winker Watson didn’t fully fire in a conditions stakes on his seasonal bow at Warwick last month.

There was 15 millimetres of rain overnight into Friday at the Berkshire track and that won’t bother Tariq, who is proven on easy ground.

Winker Watson’s work in early spring showed, too, that he doesn’t mind getting his toe in these days either.

Chapple-Hyam said: “Both Winker Watson and Tariq are in good form but they will need to be on top of their game in a race like the Lockinge.

“I’m just hoping that Winker can reproduce his home work at the track. He has been working well.

“Tariq has really started to come to himself in the last week or so and I am happy with him. He won’t mind the rain that Newbury has had.”