QUESTIONING has already had three outings this season, so ring-rustiness will not be an issue for John Gosden’s candidate in the Betfair Huxley Stakes.

Any horse good enough to beat Twice Over should always warrant close scrutiny, and this one looks well capable of making a real mark as a four-year-old.

Although he could not kick on from his Earl of Sefton Stakes success in the bet365 Mile at Sandown a fortnight ago, when second to the rejuvenated Penitent, this step back up in trip hardly looks a calculated risk.

He will also love the exacting conditions in Cheshire.

David Livingston can provide Aidan O’Brien with a fourth MBNA Chester Vase victory in the last six years.

Ballydoyle’s inmate must give away weight to his four rivals, but he undeniably takes the best form into the race.

The Galileo colt, out of a halfsister to High Chaparral and Dante winner Black Bear Island, signed off his juvenile career with a truly impressive display in the Beresford Stakes.

Behind him that day was Akeed Mofeed, who is prominent in the Derby betting and considered one of John Oxx’s best horses for quite some time.

That win was also important with this assignment in mind as the Curragh was a quagmire that day.

With the ground on the Roodee again likely to be soft, David Livingston should be in his element.

Things did not go to plan on his seasonal debut, though, as he trailed home in fifth place in the Ballysax Stakes at Leopardstown last month.

Joseph O’Brien was, however, quite clearly under instructions not to knock the stuffing out of the horse and he soon gave up the ghost once the cause was lost.

Ballydoyle’s big hopes invariably require an outing to blow away the cobwebs, so perhaps that form should not be taken at face value.

Stepping up to a mile and a half for the first time here can also only be considered a good thing, at least on pedigree.

Expect him to strip a great deal fitter than in the Ballysax.

As, too, will King’s Warrior, who lines up in the opening M&S Money Handicap.

The five-year-old has returned to these shores following a stint in France, and certainly looked the part when a staying-on second at Doncaster two weeks ago.