Charity racers in action

Pallasator tackles a Group One race in France today, but followers of Qatar Racing will also be watching two fund-raising races at Leopardstown and Aintree.

Sheikh Fahad rides at the Irish meeting, which stages the third and final leg of the Corinthian Challenge, while Qatar Racing manager David Redvers heads to the home of the Grand National to ride in a race organised by the Countryside Alliance Foundation.

The Gordon Elliott-trained Labaik carries Sheikh Fahad in the final race on the card at Leopardstown (17.20), where 13 horses are due to line up. The five-year-old gelding has refused to race on two occasions this year once for trainer Owen Burrows, once for Elliott but he was happy to set off on his most recent start, and bolted up in a maiden hurdle.

In the two previous legs of the Corinthian Challenge Sheikh Fahad finished seventh at Naas in May and fifth at the Curragh two months later.

Redvers partners Pearl Bloodstock's Chapter Seven at Aintree (11.45) in a contest where every rider is the Master of a hunt. After completing the 1000km Mongol Derby in August, today's test over one mile and five furlongs should be relatively simple, but the need to shed pounds in weight has once again made the path to the start line a fraught one.

Today's rivals include Ryan Mania, a former jockey, now Master of the Berwickshire Hunt in Scotland, and who won the Grand National in 2013 on Aurora's Encore.

The Sir Mark Prescott-trained Pallasator is in action at Saint-Cloud where he is one of 15 runners in the Prix Royal-Oak (16.25, 15.25 in UK). The seven-year-old has reached new highs this season, rising to a mark of 113 with recent seconds in Group Two events at Goodwood and York.

Pallasator, who is ridden today by Oisin Murphy, is a notably quirky character, but was unlucky to suffer a bout of lameness after his most recent run. Sir Mark says: ‚"He should be fit enough and he seems in good form, but as he does most of his work solo I don't know more than that.‚"