Hopes that Sendawar will tackle tomorrow's Queen Elizabeth II Stakes appeared to fade yesterday as further rain turned the going to soft at Ascot.

Trainer Alain de Royer-Dupre is reluctant to risk his star miler on an unsuitably soft surface and is unlikely to have been happy with what he saw on travelling over from France to see what conditions were like at the track.

De Royer-Dupre has long warned that soft going would cause him to scratch Sendawar and a withdrawal would take much of the significance away from tomorrow's race, which is often seen as determining the European milers' championship.

Docksider and Lend A Hand are others among the eight confirmed entries likely to be ruled out by soft going, although Godolphin's Diktat and Dubai Millennium should both stand their ground.