THE Wedding is occupying everyone's thoughts around the Herridge kitchen, but out in the yard racing remains the number one priority, and, doubtless, Richard junior himself will have one eye on the TV as he gets ready for his nuptials on Saturday afternoon.

     We have runners at Haydock - "Measuring Time won his first two and then improved again to chase home Native Khan in the Solario at Sandown, which must give him a sound chance in the Listed race up there," said the boss - and on the Polytrack at Kempton.

     The fact that Richard Hughes is staying on at the Sunbury track to ride Above All for William Haggas in the conditions race at 3.50 suggests that the newcomer, pitched in against two winners rather than going for a maiden must be smart, and we can only he gets a clear run down the M3 to take his place as an usher at 5pm.

     However, Hughesie rides two for us, Reckless Reward in the Sirenia and Heliodor in the September, and Reckless Reward is one of junior's horses, so it would be a great wedding present for him if William Drew's colt could win. The boss said: "Both his wins have come on the Polytrack so he likes the surface, though he also ran really well in the big Sales race at York, where the six furlongs looked to suit him.

     "Heliodor is another who loves this surface - the trip (10f) was too sharp for him at Chester, but he is a decent stayer and back over the mile and a half he won't be far away.

     "We also run Gercarter (Pat Dobbs) in the mile handicap. He has a decent draw but is a horse who has to come late so he will need the breaks around there."

  With THE wedding little more than 72 hours away - I swear that I saw Fraank, the eccentric wedding planner in the Father of the Bride flash through the kitchen at Herridge this morning - but, while Richard Hannon junior made his big decision when he went down on one knee and asked Jemima (Ensor) to marry him, the boss deliberated long and hard before answering the $64,000 dollar question on whether to run Paco Boy at Haydock or in France this week-end.

  "We have weighed up the options and, while we don't have to declare until tomorrow, it now looks almost certain that are going to give the Sprint Cup a miss and wait for the Prix Moulin at Longchamp on Sunday," said Hannon.

   He added:"I have always favoured France, but I have spoken to part-owner Derek Lucy-Smith and he agrees that the Moulin is probably the right race for him.

   "My worry about Haydock is that it could develop into a messy race as there will be a big field and they will most certainly split into two groups, so if you are drawn in the wrong place you could be in trouble.

    "They will also go off very fast, and while Richard Hughes makes the point that Paco Boy was quick enough to finish best of all in the July Cup at Newmarket last year, Equiano and Starspangledbanner are likely to go five furlong pace at Haydock and we won't be able to ride a race on our fellow.

     "In contrast, there will be a single figure field for the Moulin - there is no Goldikova, and, while Makfi could run, the ground will be vastly different to the very soft conditions that he revelled in when beating us in the Prix Jacques le Marois at Deauville, so we must have a chance of turning that form around.

     "Paco Boy finished a close third to Goldikova in the Moulin two years ago, and there is no doubt that he is a much better horse now, so we have to go there feeling upbeat."

     Hannon will leave in Canford Cliffs until the final forfeit stage on Friday "just in case", though he stresses that the Queen Elizabeth 11 Stakes at Ascot is the preferred target for our triple Group 1 winner.

    The boss added:"Canford Cliffs did just a steady piece of work this morning, but Hughesie got off and told me that he has never moved better. He looks bigger and stronger than he did before Royal Ascot and is improving all the time, so we just need to ensure that he is in this sort of form in three weeks time."

     With Paco Boy missing Haydock, Hughesie, who was going to fly straight back after the race, will now ride instead at Kempton's Polytrack meeting on Saturday, giving him ample time to get back to St Peter's Church in Pewsey for the wedding at 5pm.

 Paco Boy will be on a horsebox out of Herridge this week-end, but whether he will be heading to Haydock for the Sprint Cup or to France for the Prix Moulin at Longchamp won't be decided until later in the week.

 Richard Hannon, declaring Paco Boy "in great order" since his brave effort against Makfi and Goldikova in the Prix Jacques le Marois at Deauville, said:"It will be one or the other, and we will see what the ground and likely opposition is at both courses before making up our minds.

  "I would prefer to go to France unless the ground came up as soft as it was at Deauville, but the owners (Calvera Partnership) would rather have a crack at Haydock.

  "People have made a lot of Paco Boy finishing only fourth in the July Cup the last time he tackled six furlongs, but he was all at sea in the dips at Newmarket and flew home when he met the rising ground. He'd be much better suited by Haydock, and with 8mm of rain forecast up there for Friday and Saturday the ground should be fine."

  Should Paco Boy go to Haydock (3.40), Richard Hughes would fly back straight after the race in time to take his place as usher at the wedding of his brother-in-law Richard Hannon jnr, who gets married at 5pm. Ryan Moore would take Hughesie's place on Solario Stakes runner-up Measuring Time in the two-year-old race at Haydock.        

   Richard Hannon reports Memory "absolutely fine" on returning to Herridge following her disappointing run in the Moyglare Stud Stakes at The Curragh on Sunday.

    Hannon, speaking on Monday morning, said:"There is not a bother on Memory. She is bucking and kicking and she never had a race, so we will freshen her up for the Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket.

   "We feared the worst when we saw we had drawn the one stall. It was always going to be very tough from the outside, and she was 20 lengths adrift at the elbow.

    "You just cannot make up that amount of ground in a Group 1 race, but Hughesie looked after her when he saw that he could not possibly win, so we live to fight another day. We still think that she is a very good filly, and we hope that she will bounce back at Newmarket."

       Richard Hannon plans to have Memory checked from head to toe when she arrives back from Ireland, our hitherto unbeaten filly having failed to run up to expectations in the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes at The Curragh on Sunday.

      Memory, who had never broken sweat to win both the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot and Cherry Hinton at Newmarket, started evens favourite to consolidate her position as market-leader for next year's 1000 Guineas, but she was never going a yard and trailed in a seven lengths sixth behind the Aidan O'Brien-trained Misty For Me.

     "She was not travelling at any stage," lamented Richard Hughes, who was sending out distress signals at half-way, and Richard Hannon said:"For some reason Memory did not fire, but some of ours have run like that recently, and we will have to take her home and get our vet, Mike O'Gorman, to give her a thorough MOT.

    "It was her first time at seven furlongs, but there is no way that you could put that down to the distance as she was a beaten filly before stamina became an issue. It is very disappointing, but, hopefully, something will show up from the tests." 

     Harry Herbert, managing director of Highclere, who own Memory, said:"She ran very flat and it was just not her day. We shall have to see whether the tests reveal something was amiss, but if she is ok we could bring her back in the Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket." 

    Earlier, Big Issue had finished a creditable third to 22-1 shot Dingle View in the Group 3 Round Tower Stakes. He came there with every chance and did very little wrong, and, having only run three times, we won't be too disappointed as he was jumping up from a maiden win.

     Richard Hughes virtually replicated his Goodwood performance on Zebedee to win the £100,000 Tattersalls Million at Newmarket on Saturday, a first-prize which keeps Richard Hannon snapping at the heels of Sir Michael Stoute in the race for the trainers championship.

     Hughes has the key to Zebedee, who has won four of his five races, including the Group 3 Molecomb Stakes at Goodwood, but now that the key has proved that he stays six furlongs all options are open.

     As at Goodwood, Zebedee swooped fast and late to mug 40-1 outsider Button Moon and steal the prize on the line, and, reflecting on the performance, Hannon said:"The six was always the worry for Zebedee, but he got the trip well.

     "Obviously, that was not a Group race and it would be that much tougher in the Mill Reef or the Middle Park, but he has proved himself a decent colt and we always have the option of switching back to five for either the Flying Childers at Doncaster or the Cornwallis at Ascot.

     "Peter Doyle bought Zebedee for Julie Wood for 70,000gns, and this Sales race was always one of our major targets for him. He is only small, but he has been a little star. He won early on at Windsor and he has not done much wrong since."

        We had a setback in Ireland three weeks ago with Strong Suit, but nobody at Herridge envisages a similar upset when Memory attempts to stretch her unbeaten record to four in the Moyglare Stud Stakes at The Curragh on Sunday.

        Memory, ante-post favourite for next year's 1000 Guineas, has been working the house down at home, and, while Richard Hannon is never one to hype up his horses, there is no doubt that he will be left speechless if the filly is beaten.

        He said:"It is Memory's first Group 1 and her first attempt at seven furlongs, so we are taking nothing for granted, but I have not seen a better two-year-old filly in England or Ireland this season, and she has been absolutely flying on the gallops.

       "The form of her races cannot be questioned - the two who chased her home in the Cherry Hinton at Newmarket (Soraaya and Hooray) have gone on to win the Princess Margaret and Lowther Stakes respectively - and we don't see the extra furlong being a problem as she settles so well in her races.

      "Memory has grown up through the summer, but, while she is no longer so playful in the mornings, she is still a very active filly and not one you would want to turn out in a paddock for a couple of weeks. She has been screaming out for another race, and, with the Highclere team enjoying such a fantastic run, we all hope that she will continue the celebrations in Ireland."

     Owner Julie Wood would like to be able to split herself in half and be in two places at once on Saturday, as she has Date With Destiny and Zebedee running in the space of 15 minutes of each other, and it will be interesting to see whether she heads to Newmarket or Goodwood.

     Richard junior's date with destiny might be a week away when he ties the knot with the lovely Jemima - the Clintons might as well face facts, THIS is the wedding of the year - but for this Saturday at least our date with destiny surrounds the reappearance of George Washington's high-profile filly, who was so impressive when making a winning debut at Newbury and dips her toes into Pattern race waters for the Group 3 Prestige Stakes.

     The boss said:"We have no idea whether Date With Destiny will handle soft ground, but there is only one way to find out. There were mixed messages of the form of the Newbury race, but she could not have done the job better, and this is the natural progression. They'll be racing on fresh ground up the straight, so, hopefully, conditions won't be too bad."

    The Group 2 Celebration Mile has cut up to four runners, so Louis Stalder, who owns Vitznau, is guaranteed at least £5,370.

   The boss added:"We have been waiting all season for some soft ground for this fellow, so, while he comes out badly on the ratings, maybe there will be a turn up. His three wins on the turf have all been gained when there was cut in the ground, and he will relish the conditions, but it could be a tactical affair, so who knows.

   "We run The Queen's Free Agent in the March Stakes, and I think he will love the ground as he ran a blinder at Salisbury last year when he encountered similar conditions."    

       They might have escaped most of this week's rain up north, but we have suffered a deluge down south, and, though we have runners at Goodwood, Newmarket and Windsor on Saturday, we know that any horse that does not go in soft ground won't be winning.

       However, all three meetings are offering excellent prize money - unlike Lingfield on Thursday which was a disgrace - so, with the forecast favourable, we have fingers and toes firmly crossed that we can make further inroads into Sir Michael Stoute's lead at the top of the trainers prize money table.

      Assessing our prospects, Richard Hannon said:"We have barely had soft ground all year, so for most of these it will be a case of going into the unknown.

      "Zebedee is our main hope for the £100,000 Tattersalls Million at Newmarket. He has won four out of five, including the Molecomb at Goodwood, but he has never raced on anything worse than good and he is only a pony, so how he will handle soft ground is anybody's guess.

       "However, we are told that the ground will only get better, so we can only hope. It's Zebedee's first time over six furlongs and he has to give weight away all round, so we know that it won't be easy. Hughesie will drop him out as he did at Goodwood and ride him to get the trip, and there is no doubt that he has the best form in the race, but everything will depend on how he copes with the conditions.

       "We also run a nice Indian Haven filly in the race called Tashila. She showed a lot of promise on her debut in a Goodwood maiden which has thrown up a fistful of subsequent winners, so if she goes in the ground she could get in the money, too."

   Sir Robert Ogden, who has been splashing the cash at the yearling sales at both Deauville and Doncaster, has a decent staying youngster in King Torus, who could be off to Paris on Arc week-end for the Group 1 Prix Jean Luc Lagadere.

    Richard Hannon said:"King Torus is entered in both the Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket and the Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster, but we slightly favour going to Paris for a race which his father, Oratorio, won in 2004.

   "King Torus has just got better and better and we were all impressed how well he stretched out when taking the Vintage Stakes by six lengths at Glorious Goodwood. He also won the Superlative at Newmarket's July meeting, so he has two Group 2's in the bag and deserves a crack at a big one."

     Sweet Cecily, runner-up in the St Hugh's Stakes at Newbury recently, has proved herself a black type filly, and the boss is contemplating taking Julie Wood's speedy filly up to Ayr's Western meeting next month for the Group 3 Firth of Clyde Stakes.

     The Hannons, who acquired five yearlings at Deauville, have also been in action at Doncaster this week, so any would-be buyers are advised to "move quickly".