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Last year’s Nunthorpe third poised for Lingfield on Saturday.

Moss Gill l sets off on what first-season trainer Ed Bethell hopes will be an exciting year with a run in the Betway Hever Sprint Stakes at Lingfield on Saturday.

Should the six-year-old make a successful reappearance in the Listed contest, connections will consider the Al Quoz Sprint at Meydan next month.

The ultimate objective is the Nunthorpe Stakes, in which Moss Gill was third to Battaash at York last August.

Moss Gill was then in the care of James Bethell, before he handed over the reins at Thorngill Stables in Middleham on January 1 to his son, who has already had his first winner.

"He goes to Lingfield all being well. He had a break after Nottingham (in October) and went in the field for a month and a half," said Bethell.

"He was never going to grow a whole lot, but he's strengthened up. He's a real happy horse at the moment and we're all looking forward to running him. I'm hoping he'll give a very good account of himself.

"If he was to win, we've been invited to the Al Quoz Sprint in Dubai at the end of March. We're using this as a possible stepping stone. He'd have to win to even warrant going out there.

"We will see how he runs on Saturday. I would like to think I'd be working back from the Nunthorpe and go for a tilt there. He loves York and it's a race, I think, that suits him."

He added: "It's incredibly exciting and I'm so grateful to Mr Van Cutsem (owner) for leaving him with me. He's one of those horses we all want to be associated with. I just hope we get it right and he's a true flag-bearer."