MARTIN DWYER is no stranger to upsetting a favourite to land Classic success.

And the Merseyside jockey will bid to do it again in this afternoon’s Ladbrokes St Leger aboard Andrew Balding’s Top Lock.

The 33-year-old’s first Classic win came when partnering another Balding runner Casual Look in the 2003 Vodafone Oaks, while Sir Percy’s win for Marcus Tregoning in the Derby two years ago was another triumph against racing’s powerhouse stables.

Dwyer has also seen his fair share of place prize-money in the Classics down the years and he feels Top Lock certainly is a viable each-way alternative to today’s market leaders Frozen Fire, Oaks heroine Look Here and Doctor Fremantle.

He said: “Realistically if the likes of Frozen Fire and Ralph Beckett’s Oaks filly (Look Here) run to their top form, it will be tough to beat them. But neither has run for a while and if they have an off-day, we could be there to take advantage. You would say he has an solid each-way chance.”

He added: “Every jockey wants to win a Classic and I’m no different. I have won the Oaks and the Derby, been second in the Leger and the 2,000 Guineas, so I know what it is like to win a Classic – it is the best feeling in racing. Once you win one, it makes you hungry to do it again. I am hopeful Top Lock has a good chance of helping me do that.”

The Nayef colt did not run as a juvenile, and although he has not won since his debut on the all-weather in April, he has shown high-class form throughout the summer.

He was third to Campanologist in the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot, before filling the same spot in the German Derby at Hamburg in July.

But is was his second spot to Centennial, following a short summer break in the re-routed Great Voltigeur Stakes at Goodwood that marked him down as a St Leger prospect.

Seven of the last 11 winners of the Leger were among the first four in the Great Voltigeur. As the only runner in the field today who contested the 1m4f contest, Dwyer is hoping that run continues.

He added: “He has some really good form. He probably needed the run last time in the Voltigeur because he came to win the race and just couldn’t go through with it. He missed out on some regular work as he went up to York for the initial race, so he was a bit short. But that should have put him spot-on now. He is tip-top condition and Andrew said he is in the best shape he has had him all season.

“The ground is likely to be soft and he will go on that. I think he will stay the extra distance and I am hopeful he will run a big race.”

Dwyer finished second to O’Brien’s Brian Boru in the 2003 St Leger aboard Tregoning’s High Accolade, with Balding’s Phoenix Reach – another horse Dwyer won Group One races with – third.

The Liverpool-born thinks Top Lock has a similar profile.

He said: “It is a similar scenario in some ways and Top Lock certainly has a similar sort of chance as High Accolade did. Hopefully this time I can go one better. It hasn’t been the best of seasons for me, in fact it has been bad, but if I can land the Leger that could certainly change that.”

LADBROKES ST LEGER PREDICTION: 1 TOP LOCK, 2 Frozen Fire 3 Alessandro Volta.

WEEKEND NAPS: TODAY: Angus Newz (3.30pm Chester). TOMORROW: Askar Tau (4.35pm Great Leighs).