The all-weather scene isn’t everyones cup of tea, but it keeps the Flat going throughout the winter months. Even though the quality isn’t always of the highest calibre, that certainly can’t be said about Good Friday’s action at Lingfield where the best of the all-weather performers pitch up against each other in what looks sure to be a great day’s racing.
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All-Weather Championships Apprentice Handicap (Class 2)
Holiday Magic returned to the turf on Lincoln day at Doncaster but it didn’t go to plan as he finished down the field, back on the Polytrack he should find this easier. He racked up a hat-trick earlier in the season and has since put in solid efforts including behind Nimr at Wolverhampton, only 1lb higher than that run he can go well.
War Glory was gelded over the winter and returned with a solid effort over course and distance on Saturday and that should have put him spot on for this, he sneaks in at the bottom of the weights and being lightly raced can improve. Amazour put in a great display in a Listed race last time behind Salateen, Keystroke and Yuften which is strong form but has a lot to do off top weight.
Winning three of his six starts for Michael Appleby, Hakam is now chasing a hat-trick following a gutsy win at Kempton. He has only been raised 3lbs for that and should give a good account of himself.
All-Weather Marathon (Class 2)
Likely front runners Pinzolo and Watersmeet could be worth focussing on here. The latter thrived for the step up to two miles last time at Chelmsford and won quite easily in the end from Winning Story. The former just failed to hang on in the Winter Derby at this track on his latest outing and this is a marked step up in trip. The fact he has raced over this distance twice and has been unsuccessful leads to preference for Watersmeet.
Natural Scenery beat the subsequent Imperial Cup winner London Prize last time and the step up to two miles brought out the best in her that day. Receiving weight from the whole field she is the worthy favourite and probably the one to beat. Petite Jack has won four of his last five and is 5-6 at Lingfield, this is a big increase in class but he loves the track and could go under the raidar.
Lastly, Ryan Moore takes the ride on Cohesion who has already been mixing with a few of todays rivals. He has only had three runs for David Bridgewater and seven in total so he may well be open to improvement.
All-Weather Fillies’ and Mares’ (Class 2)
This looks likely to be between the top two in the market. Muffri’Ha looked mightily impressive when landing a hat-trick towards the back end of last season and may well be in a class of her own amongst these rivals. She has been in Meydan the past few months and ran well in three starts, but the latter couple of efforts were over 1m1f and the last race in particular she finished off very strongly and I’m not sure this drop in trip is necessarily what she wants. Drawn in stall 1 she can get an early advantage by breaking quickly, but if she is a bit slow away she might get trapped.
Ashadihan returned to action with a comfortable win over last years winner of this race Volunteer Point at Chelmsford in February. She was outclassed in a couple of Group 1s last season but this is more her level and being 2-2 on the all-weather she clearly relishes the surface and I think seven furlongs is her ideal distance.
Carolinae has run well recently, most notably in a win over Absolute Blast which was followed by an easy victory here at odds of 1/6. She could be one to pounce if the top two in the betting fail to produce, along with Realtra who has already won in France this season prior to heading over to Dubai.
All-Weather Sprint (Class 2)
A very tough race to try and solve and you definitely need luck on your side to find the winner. Lancelot Du Lac is a bit of an all-weather expert and always seems to run his race at Lingfield. He was second in this last year and will be looking to go one better, having won two of three starts this season he clearly retains all of his ability and is probably the most likely winner.
Royal Birth beat the aforementioned horse last time out but this extra furlong could find him out as he does the majority of his racing over the minimum distance. Kimberella won on his first start for Richard Fahey but this is much harder.
Pretend captured this race in 2015 but hasn’t quite been up to scratch this season. While Mythmaker and Gracious John both have solid chances on ratings but will need to improve upon their recent form in order to figure.
All-Weather Mile (Class 2)
Ennaad looks like a solid favourite for Roger Varian having won his last four starts. The last time he was at this track he ran out a six length winner over Imperial Aviator and hasn’t looked back since. My Target is a Lingfield specialist having won six of his nine appearance at the here. He tends to be held up and swoop late and really comes home strongly, he looks the most likely danger to the favourite.
Nimr disappointed in the Spring Mile after winning cosily at Wolverhampton and if back to that sort of form could be in the mix. Qurbaan arrives from France having won a couple of Listed contests and Sovereign Debt often seems to be unlucky coming from off the pace and you can be sure he’ll be there or thereabouts.
Keystroke and Salateen are closely matched based on their recent tussle but the former tends to be more consistent and is more likely to be involved.
3 Year Old (Class 2)
Richard Hannon had a flying start to the turf season at the beginning of the month and saddles Tomily here. He looked in need of his first run back when finishing five lengths behind Second Thought and Sutter County at Kempton, but he bounced back in beating the latter over this course and distance subsequently.
Second Thought beat Sutter County again over seven furlongs last time but needed every inch of that distance to get past and this drip back in trip doesn’t look ideal. Dubai One has the advantage of having Ryan Moore on board and will be looking to bring up a four-timer. She gets weight from the field and she has already beaten a couple of these so could be the one to side with.
Easter Classic (Class 2)
Grendisar emerged victorious from this 12 months ago but hasn’t been able to win since. Age may have caught up with him and he will need to significantly improve on this campaigns efforts in order to beat rivals that have already got the better of him recently.
Convey won the Winter Derby and did it in good style in the end, storming home from the rear of the field. Absolute Blast was back in third that day but does get an extra couple of pounds from the winner. She sneaked up the inside rail but perhaps got to the front a bit too soon and lost out close home. At Kempton she showed a great attitude to get the better of Linguistic and if played a little later then I think she could overturn the form of the Winter Derby.
If he manages to break well then Battalion must be in with a great chance. He has won comfortably on a couple of occasions over course and distance this season, but has been slowly away on all his starts recently and if he does that again in this type of company he will have a mountain to climb.
Elbereth won a decent enough race at Dundalk on her seasonal reappearance and is consistent for Andrew Balding. Connections will be hoping that the application of headgear to Third Time Lucky will settle him down, but even so he still has a bit to find on form with the market leaders.
Advice
All-Weather Championships Apprentice Handicap (1.40PM, Friday 14th April): 1pt each way War Glory (6/1 general)
All-Weather Fillies’ and Mares’ (2.40PM, Friday 14th April): 1pt win Ashadihan (2/1 general)
All-Weather Mile (3.40PM, Friday 14th April): 1pt win Ennaad (7/4 general)
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