As celebration routines go, it may not have quite the flamboyance of a leaping Frankie Dettori, but it's possibly more heartfelt.

Big race winners tend to provoke the normally reserved Arthur Moore into planting his brown trilby on the head of the unsuspecting head of the stamping, sweating, big race hero.

L'Escargot, the horse that Moore's father Dan trained to win the 1975 Grand National, suddenly found himself with different headgear to his normal blinkers in the Aintree winner's enclosure. Klairon Davis too in the Champion Chase enclosure at Cheltenham.

However, it's today's Ladbroke Hurdle (in all its forms) that could have been formed as a vehicle for Moore's hat-donning.

Formerly known as the Sweeps Hurdle, this is one of the most competitive races of the season and since it was first run as a handicap in 1976, Moore has stood in the winner's enclosure six times. Throw in three runner-up placings and it's little wonder that Moore's name is the first punters search for when initial entries are announced.

This time they have been examining the chances of Regency Rake and Penny Native, outsiders sure, but outsiders that no punter or bookmaker will dismiss lightly. Not that such expectations weigh heavily on their trainer.

Quietly spoken and suspicious of hype, Moore simply concentrates on getting his horses to the race in the best possible shape. However, it would be scary if he didn't have a liking for this race above most others.

"It has been a lucky race for us," he agrees. "In fact it was the first big race we landed when Irian (1979) won. And it was lovely to win it again with Graphic Equaliser last year. But it was no great feat of training to win with him because he was so well handicapped."

Such is Moore's diffidence that he makes it sound almost like a happy coincidence, but nothing could be further from the truth. If the criteria for the best trainers is getting a horse to a particular date in peak condition, then Moore's record proves he has no better in the country.

Tom Taaffe, formerly Moore's stable jockey, rode four winners of today's big race for him and he knows better than most that it is no coincidence.

"Arthur would plan out the Ladbroke for a horse a year and maybe more in advance. That's the reality. If he has that type of handicap hurdler then he will just map a campaign out. I know the records show I rode the horses, but he basically rode them himself. He is a great student of the formbook and a very good race reader. He sat me down beforehand, planned how the race would go and how the others would be ridden. I just did what he told me to do," Taaffe says.

Conor O'Dwyer, Graphic Equaliser's rider last year and who is on Regency Rake this time, recounts a similar tale.

"We must have gone through a dozen past Ladbrokes on video. He pointed where the past winners had come from and the positions to take. I think he was worried about the tight track and big field, but generally speaking he likes his horses ridden the same way. He likes to let a race unfold before making a move," O'Dwyer says.

Today could be one of those days when such tactics are appropriate in a particularly large field. Moore is characteristically cautious about his chances with Regency Rake and Penny Native in a race that may just lack the class of previous years.

"The race that Limestone Lad won over Christmas was probably a harder race than today's, but what it may lack in class it makes up for in competitiveness. The horse to have usually is one on his way up, has speed and jumps quickly. Young horses have a good record, but this year perhaps that won't be the case.

"Regency Rake and Penny Native are entitled to take their chance. Penny Native lost his form so we gave him a break and we did the same with Regency Rake after he ran badly in the November Handicap. This race was a natural choice for them. They are pretty exposed, on their handicap marks, but they jump well and if they get clear runs they should have a chance of making the first four," he says, picking his words carefully.

A phrase like `picking his words carefully' could almost have been moulded for Moore who has successfully continued an immense family tradition in racing.

L'Escargot may have been the highlight of his father's career, but there were also champions of the calibre of Tied Cottage, Quita Que and Inkslinger to make a young man aware of a heritage. Moore may be firmly part of the Irish racing establishment, but those who know him testify to anything but a one-dimensional man.

Taaffe remembers celebrating past success with Moore and smiles: "Don't worry, he knows how to enjoy himself" while O'Dwyer adds: "He is a quiet man and I suppose can be hard to make out if you don't know him. But he is loyal and he is straight. If something has to be said, he will say it and then it's forgotten. He's a very honourable guy."

Thus Moore will never be guilty of building up his geese into swans and it's no different with Regency Rake and Penny Native.

"I'm pleased with both of their preparations, but then I was pleased with them before the Galway Hurdle and they ran stink," he says, but that doesn't mean that Moore's competitive instincts haven't been roused by their chances either. Asked about what he regards as the biggest dangers to his Ladbroke pair, Moore's reply may be quiet but offers enough encouragement to suggest that the chance of a seventh race success is real enough.

"We might be dangers to some of the others."