Martin hoping Orandi can line up in big Ascot handicap There is rain on the way in Ireland today but that is not the case at Ascot where trainer Tony Martin is hoping that there is enough of a cushion in the ground for Orandi to take his chance in the Balmoral Handicap  The £200,000 contest over the straight mile is the concluding race on the Qipco British Champions Day card and David Egan is due to partner the French-bred seven-year old who is at his best on a soft surface.  It's set to remain dry at Ascot today and the ground is currently described as good. “If we get any bit of juice in the ground he’ll run," said Martin. "I wouldn’t run him all year on good as he’d get jarred up.  “He won the Lincoln at the Curragh and then we went to England (third in the Lincoln at Doncaster on good to soft) and it probably came a bit quick.  “I brought him to France (for a valuable handicap in May) and they usually get heavy ground there, but we couldn’t run him.” Orandi has been absent since running twice at the Galway festival where he was third to Dunum in the big mile handicap before finishing down the field over 7f on the last day of the big meeting at Ballybrit.  Additional reporting by Alan Magee
