LADY Bear has been slashed to 14-1 from 40-1 for the Tote Cambridgeshire Handicap - the first leg of the traditional Autumn Double - at Newmarket on Saturday week.

But the Richard Fahey-trained filly, winner of a valuable race at Ayr last weekend, has one major obstacle to overcome beforehand - beating the safety limit to make the line-up for the £120,000 showpiece.

Only the top 35 declared horses in the race can actually face the starter, with the remainder effectively eliminated, which can be a source of much frustration, especially if you miss the cut by a slender margin.

Fahey is keeping his fingers crossed that Lady Bear is one of the lucky ones.

He said: "As things stand at the moment, she needs about ten horses above her to come out in order to get a run. It's probably going to be touch and go, but I'd love to see her in the field, because I think it's a race that would really suit her."

Lady Bear's Cambridgeshire odds were slashed after her 16-1 success in the £30,000 Tote Ayrshire Handicap at Ayr last Saturday in the hands of Paul Hanagan.

It was the third sizeable win of the campaign for the Butterwick filly, who also won the Spring Mile at Doncaster in March and the Ripon Rowels for owner Arthur Campbell.

Lady Bear's Scottish success came just half an hour after an agonizing defeat for her stablemate Vintage Premium, who, after yet again running out of his skin, was undeservedly beaten a short head by Island House in the Doonside Cup.

"I felt gutted when the result was announced, and I heard he'd been beaten. It was as though someone had ripped out my heart," said Fahey. "He ran a hell of a race, though, on ground which was drying out all the time and was quick enough for him."

Next stop for Vintage Premium, winner of the richly-endowed John Smith's Cup at York in July, is a Group Two race at Longchamp's star-studded Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe meeting.

By coincidence, that race is on the very same Saturday as the Cambridgeshire at Newmarket. So, if Lady Bear does make the all-important cut, Fahey will be aiming for a cross-channel double.

Tom O'Ryan is a staff writer with the Racing Post.

Updated: 09:46 Wednesday, September 25, 2002