TOTE Cesarewitch favourite Canon Can was yesterday given a big vote of confidence by the handicapper. Philip Smith, officially responsible for rating Britain's stayers, revealed that the three year old is set for a "double figure" rise in the weights after his success in a four runner conditions event at Pontefract last Tuesday.

He reckons the Henry Cecil trained colt is potentially thrown in at the weights off his old mark in the Cesarewitch at Newmarket for which he is 4 to 1 favourite with William Hill.

"I can't announce Canon Can's new rating until tomorrow but he is obviously set for a double figure rise," Smith said. "It would certainly appear that he is well in the Cesarewitch and he was so impressive and so convincing.

"But I have seen in the past horses appear well in after four runner conditions events and then not confirm it. And Canon Can is a very inexperienced horse for a race of that nature.

"The form of Canon Can's previous handicap win had been working out very badly and I had actually been thinking of dropping him 1lb for the Cesarewitch - I'm pleased I didn't!

Smith admitted that his final assessment would owe something to educated guesswork.

"The problem is that Canon Can gave Kristal Paradise 9lb and a seven length beating at Pontefract after weight for age.

"Kristal Paradise is rated 103 so taking the form literally puts Canon Can on 118 - just 5lb behind Double Trigger!

"To have a horse suddenly improve 30lb is unlikely in the extreme, especially after it has run six times, yet I couldn't drop Kristal Paradise as she was second to Celeric previously and that is rock solid form.

"So it, is educated guesswork in part.

Luso has "bounced back" from the injury which scuppered his bid for a big prize in Germany last weekend and is on course for a return trip, Clive Brittain revealed yesterday.

The colt, hurt in the plane en route to the Mercedes Benz Grosser Preis Von Baden, will aim for the EMS Kurierpost Europa Preis at Cologne a week next Sunday. "He has bounced back and he is very well," Brittain said. "He will be hack on the 22nd in another Group One race in Germany."

"Luso has done a lot of travelling and what happened was just one of those freak things. He hit his head on the plan and was bleeding from his sinuses. We worried some of it would get back into his lungs but it has all healed up."