All-Weather Championship Finals Day draws full fields

Final declarations have been made for All-Weather

Championships Finals Day at Lingfield Park on Good Friday, April 18, and the £1

million on offer in prize money has certainly proved popular.

There are 96

horses declared across the card with maximum fields for five of the seven

contests. In addition, the £150,000 Three-Year-Old Championships,

the £150,000 Sprint and the £150,000 Mile

each have two reserves which can be utilized if there are any

withdrawals by 9 a.m. (BST) Thursday morning.

"We really could not have asked for a better inaugural All-Weather

Championships Finals Day with maximum fields in five of the six main races," ARC

Director of PR and Communications Kate Hills said. "The Fast-Track Qualifiers have provided a strong narrative

in the build-up to Good Friday and it is very satisfying to see so many of them

lining up.

"We are all set for a fabulous and historic day's racing

with racing for the first time in England on Good Friday."

Horses qualified for the six championship contests by

running in a minimum of three races at Britain's all-weather tracks -- three

owned by ARC (Lingfield Park, Southwell and Wolverhampton) and The Jockey Club's

Kempton Park -- between October 26 and April 11 or else by succeeding in one of

the 16 Fast-Track Qualifiers.

A field of 13 goes to post in the day's richest race, the

£200,000 Classic over 10 furlongs. Heading the declarations are course and

distance winners Robin Hoods Bay and Grandeur. Robin Hoods Bay landed the March

22

Winter Derby for trainer Ed Vaughan while Grandeur was successful in the

Winter Derby Trial a month earlier for conditioner Jeremy Noseda. Both of those races served as Fast-Track

Qualifiers for the Classic.

The final field for Britain's

richest-ever all-weather race also includes multiple Polytrack scorer Solar

Deity plus listed scorers Aussie Reigns and Dick Doughtywylie.

In the £150,000 All-Weather Fillies' & Mares'

Championships, a maximum field of 14 distaffers is set to face the

starter, including the Michael Bell-trained Fashion Line, who won twice at Wolverhampton

before finishing a close fourth in the valuable Ladbrokes Lincoln Trial on March

8 at the same track.

All three Fast-Track Qualifier winners in the

Three-Year-Old category are set to take part in the £150,000 All-Weather

Three-Year-Old Championships over seven furlongs, which has a maximum

field of 14.

Ertijaal qualified by landing the listed Spring Cup at Lingfield Park on March 22 by a head from American Hope. The filly Alutiq could only finish seventh

that day but had already qualified by landing a Fast-Track Qualifier at Kempton

Park on January 15. The other Fast-Track Qualifier scorer to line up is

Complicit, who scored at Lingfield Park in November before going on

to win on the All-Weather surface at Deauville next time out.

Dean Ivory, based at Radlett in Hertfordshire, is

represented in the All-Weather Three-Year-Old Championships by Golden

Amber. The daughter of Holy Roman Emperor won on turf in Ireland last year and

although winless in three six-furlong starts on Polytrack, the trainer believes

the step up in trip will suit and she will sport a hood for the first time.

"I think Golden Amber will appreciate the step up to seven furlongs on the

all-weather," Ivory said. "To get into these big races, you have to run three times

to qualify so you end up running them in races that aren't ideal. I was running

her over six furlongs when I knew she wanted seven.

"She had three quick runs to get her in, but she has had a

break and galloped at Lingfield last week with Sirius Prospect just to sharpen

her up. I think the hood will help. It will get her to relax."

Another race with a maximum field is the £150,000 All-Weather Marathon over nearly two miles. Again, three

Fast-Track Qualifier scorers line up -- Arch Villain, who scored at Kempton Park

on January 22; Castilo del Diablo, a winner at

Kempton Park on March 31; and Litigant, who has won two of his

three starts on Polytrack and landed his Fast-Track Qualifier at Lingfield Park

on March 1.

Ivory is represented in the race by Duchess of Gazeley, who put up her best performance when third, beaten

a half-length,

behind Litigant at Lingfield Park.

"Duchess of Gazeley is in great form," Ivory stated. "The two

miles at Kempton doesn't suit her -- she struggles to get the trip -- but it's a

lot easier at Lingfield. She has good form at the track but we have got to ride

her to get the trip.

"She would have a squeak on her run behind Litigant at

Lingfield and I would like to think she will be in the first three or four."

The £150,000, six-furlong Sprint also features the three Fast-Track Qualifier

scorers among the maximum field of 12. They include Tarooq, who scored by a head from Rivellino in the

listed Cleves Stakes at

Lingfield Park on February 22. The eight-year-old had previously led home

Hawkeyethenoo, Lancelot Du Lac and Alben Star in a handicap over the same course and distance in December, when the

first six horses home all broke the track record. Stepper Point,

successful in the five-furlong listed Hever Sprint Stakes at

Lingfield Park on March 22, and Valbchek, not seen out since

taking the listed Golden Rose Stakes at Lingfield

Park on November 16, are the other two Fast-Track Qualifier winners.

Lancelot Du Lac did not manage to win a Fast-Track

Qualifier but, having finished third behind Tarooq and Valbchek, his trainer

Ivory is confident of a good run. The four-year-old was last seen out when

fifth behind Trinityelitedotcom in a March 29 Kempton Park handicap.

"I thought it was a good, solid run from

Lancelot Du Lac at Kempton," Ivory commented. "Ideally, I wanted to sit him second or third that day, but

they hit the gate and went like the clappers. He was a little bit further back

than I would have like and there was a tail wind, so the leaders did not come

back to us and broke the track record by a second.

"That run should put him spot on and, as long as we get

luck in running, which is so important at Lingfield, I really do think he is

going to take a lot of beating."

A maximum field of 12 goes in the £150,000 Mile. Again, all the of the three Fast-Track Qualifier winners are set to

run -- Sirius Prospect, who has been rested since winning the listed

Hyde Stakes at Kempton Park in November; Grey Mirage, successful

in three of his four most recent Polytrack starts; and Chookie Royale, who makes the long journey down from Scotland.

"Sirius Prospect has had two gallops

at Lingfield. I just wanted to show the horse around - he has never run there

before - and get him used to the bends," Ivory spoke of his entrant. "He worked lovely again this morning. I know we have a bad

draw (14) and you need the luck in running at Lingfield, but he is in great nick

and I am expecting a big run.

"A mile at Lingfield is like seven and a bit on the grass.

He held on well at Kempton and is bred for a mile, so I'm not worried about the

trip."

All-Weather Championships Finals Day gets underway with the £50,000 All-Weather Championships Apprentice

Handicap over 1 1/2 miles in which 11 horses go to post including

The Lock Master, who is seeking a four-timer following victories

at Southwell and Wolverhampton.

Please visit awchampionships.co.uk

for more details about the All-Weather

Championships, including the leaderboards and the blog from Luke Morris.

Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com