LINGFIELD isn’t the grandest of surroundings for the return of a champion heavyweight to the ring but these are small steps for Borderlescott.

Robin Bastiman has every reason to take things slow. At stake is the progress of a Yorkshire sprinting legend.

When the ten-year-old suffered a hairline fracture of the pelvis last summer, on the back of tendon problems picked up in the Temple Stakes at Haydock, a retirement in pasture looked the sure-fire future of the star of the trainer’s Cowthorpe stables.

But the horse that defied the odds to win two Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes – the second a memorable victory at the yard’s home track of York in 2009 – is made of granite.

And so, in tomorrow’s Listed Get Your Bet On At Blue Square Hever Sprint Stakes, he makes his comeback with “the enthusiasm still there” and the will to win as apparent to Bastiman as it ever was.

He’s booked the best to ride, former champion jockey Ryan Moore in the saddle with regular jockey Neil Callan serving a ban picked up in Hong Kong and Kieren Fallon on the hunt for winners in Dubai.

Everyone is hoping it proves a lucky start.

“We put him into training early. He’s been back since November,” said Bastiman. “The idea was that we would go steady away. He’s had four racecourse gallops at Southwell and he has pleased me well enough. He didn’t do a tap, of course, but he’s a hard horse to get fit.

“If we could win, or finish in the top three, at Lingfield then I will be over the moon.”

With the right pace and produced in the final throes, Borderlescott can be a sight to behold on the racetrack. Always flirting with disaster, with the line sometimes coming too quick for such a late move, his breakneck speed and extra gears have brought him 13 wins from 55 starts and nearly £750,000 in prize money.

Lingfield is a fact-finding mission.

Bastiman wants to see if ‘Scottie’ can still compete before deciding whether to thrust back him into action at the top level.

He added: “We decided to see where we were with him. So we will see how he is. He’s still working well, he’s still got the enthusiasm and that’s the main thing. I’m trying to get two runs under his belt before the Palace House Stakes (at Newmarket in May).

“I don’t want to pitch him back into Group company if he hasn’t got it. He still wants to do it and the gears are still there. It’s whether it is there for the Group races. He’s ten and we will have to play it by ear. It’s great for the yard to have him back, though.”

It won’t all hinge on five furlongs at Lingfield, however.

Punters have been able to set their watch by Borderlescott in the past, knowing the horse found a new level at the height of the Flat season. Of his 13 wins, eight have come in the middle of summer.

But he has also performed creditably when fresh as well, with two wins, two seconds and a third on his seasonal debuts.

That gives Bastiman hope, and the trainer admits he is looking forward to seeing Borderlescott in action once again.

“I am hopeful he will run a few times,” he said. “If the gear isn’t there any more, there are plenty of other opportunities – there are other decent races. As everyone knows, he peaks in July and August.

“He has done a certain amount of work to keep him fit enough and a run will bring him on. I want to get at least two runs under his belt before he tackles Group company.

“My main aim is for him to get his head in front somewhere, get his confidence back and that will make him even better. He’s done his final piece of work and he came through it well enough so I am really hopeful.

“His enthusiasm is still there. He wants to do it.”