Noel Chance will wait until the five-day declaration stage before deciding on a jockey for leading Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup fancy Looks Like Trouble. "I'm going to wait until the confirmation stage (on Saturday week) to see who is available," the Lambourn trainer said yesterday. "I'm not going to start booking one fella and then someone else becomes available.

"The people I have in mind will be available so there's no point booking one of them and then find one of the "big fellas" has become available. You never know what might happen between now and the Gold Cup."

The ride on the eight-year-old became available when regular jockey Norman Williamson was axed by owner Tim Collins last week.

Collins cited Williamson's riding of Looks Like Trouble in the Pertemps King George VI Chase at Kempton, in which the gelding was pulled up after failing to handle the sticky ground, as the reason for the rider being "jocked-off".

As well as Looks Like Trouble, who works after racing at Newbury tomorrow, Chance also hopes to run Inch Rose and Ready To Rumble at the Cheltenham Festival which gets under way on Tuesday week.

"Inch Rose runs in the four-miler and Tom Doyle will ride," he said. "She's a good mare and wants the four miles. And Ready To Rumble runs in the bumper with Seamus Durack on board."

British racing rulers have welcomed Home Secretary Jack Straw's announcement yesterday that the Tote is to be sold to the racing industry.

Peter Savill, chairman of the British Horseracing Board, said: "It has been one of my key objectives since I became chairman."