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Gary Moore hopes the handicapper reacts accordingly to allow Baron Alco to take his chance in the Brown Advisory & Merriebelle Stable Plate.

The Lower Beeding handler has earmarked the Grade Three contest at the Cheltenham Festival, which he won in 2004 with Tikram, as the next stopping point for the six-year-old.

After registering a second win over fences at Plumpton on his penultimate start, the John Stone-owned gelding put up a bold show from the front to finish second to Top Notch in a Grade One at Sandown on Saturday.

Moore said: "I was very pleased with Baron Alco on Saturday. I felt he ran as well as he can do and was beaten by a better horse.

"Maybe some of the others underperformed, I just hope the handicapper doesn't take it too seriously as he knows his ability.

"He will go straight to Cheltenham. He wasn't entered in the Arkle as he needs two and a half miles plus. He is on 143 and I hope he doesn't go up to much more than 145.

"There is a two-mile-five handicap we won several years ago with Tikram that I would like him to go for. We might look at the JLT but we will see how he comes out of it."