Hala Bek In Business

Hala Bek could yet make the line-up for the Vodafone Derby after pleasing connections in his first workout since recovering from a setback.

However, trainer Michael Jarvis said a decision on the colt's participation in the premier Classic would not be made until next week.

A highly-promising winner of his only start at Newbury last month, Hala Bek missed last week's Dante Stakes at York because of a dirty scope.

'We scoped him before we worked him and the scope was satisfactory,' Jarvis told At The Races.

'Then he worked a mile across the Flat at Newmarket and worked quite nicely. It wasn't ideal conditions ? it was raining heavily and the ground was on the soft side.

'He acts in the soft but for work it isn't ideal. We were happy with him. Philip (Robinson) was very happy with him, saying he was very relaxed.

'He passed his lead horse but he's a horse that just eases off, he just does enough.

'He is inexperienced and ideally we could have had another run somewhere, but when I saw the conditions for the Dante I wasn't too sorry that we weren't there.

'We are all keen to go as long as we feel the horse is A1 because you don't win Derbies half-cock.

'He has had a setback, there's no doubt about that, but he was pretty fit before he had those few days off. As long as we are happy with him at the early part of next week, I don't think we'll make a final decision before then because there's no need to.

'I would advise any punter thinking of backing him, and we're only eight days away, to wait until the day of the race now and make sure he is there.'

On Hala Bek's current price of 14-1, Jarvis commented: 'I wouldn't think he should be any shorter than that, but he is a highly-promising horse, who's had one race in his life ? a decent maiden which he won nicely.

'There are other days and I'm sure if he doesn't get to the Derby I think he's going to be a horse for the future.'

? PA Sport