Lingfield Park stages two excellent Listed races for fillies and mares on Thursday, including its first Fast-Track Qualifier of the 2019/20 All-Weather Championships, with a host of Britain and Ireland’s top yards represented.
A full field of 12 goes to post in the £40,000 Ladbrokes Home Of The Odds Boost EBF Fleur De Lys Fillies’ Stakes, with the mile Polytrack contest offering a guaranteed start in the £150,000 Ladbrokes Fillies & Mares’ Championship back at Lingfield Park on All-Weather Championships Finals Day, Good Friday, April 10, 2020.
Fleur De Lys Fillies’ Stakes winner Rasima
Gr3 scorer Coral Beach (Seamie Heffernan) is one of four runners on the card for Aidan O’Brien, as Ireland’s perennial champion Flat trainer chases a seventh Flat trainers’ title in Britain.
O’Brien is less than £140,000 behind defending champion John Gosden in the current standings, with the championship running to the end of the calendar year.
Gosden is represented by She’s Got You (Robert Havlin) and Muchly (David Probert), who were both placed in Listed contests on turf last time out. Yarmouth handicap scorer Scentasia (David Egan) also lines up for the stable.
File pic – thumbs up from Jim Crowley on Suyoof (photo: Andrew Watkins)
Breathtaking Look (Stuart Williams/Jim Crowley) steps up a furlong following her front-running success in the Gr3 Japan Racing Association Sceptre Stakes at Doncaster on September 13, for which she carries a 5lb penalty. The progressive four-year-old, who has not run since Doncaster, had captured a pair of seven-furlong handicaps at Newmarket earlier in the campaign.
Newmarket-based Williams said: “Breathtaking Look is very well in herself.Obviously, she has a penalty for winning at Doncaster, but she does not want soft ground ideally so there is nothing for her on the turf at this time of the year.
“We also thought we would run here with a view to the final on Good Friday, were she to run well or indeed win the free slot.
“She has not run over a mile before, but I would be very hopeful of her staying the trip.”
Breathtaking Look will clash again with Preening (James Fanshawe/Jason Watson) and California Love (Richard Spencer/Stevie Donohoe), who finished second and seventh respectively at Doncaster.
Ralph Beckett has his string in fine form and the Hampshire trainer saddles Chaleur (Rob Hornby), while William Haggas, who landed successive runnings of this race with Muffri’Ha (2016 & 2017), runs Gr2 Challenge Stakes fourth Solar Gold (Tom Marquand).
Crossing The Line (Andrew Balding/Oisin Murphy), Lucymai (Dean Ivory/Martin Dwyer) and Rock On Baileys (Amy Murphy/Lewis Edmunds) complete the 12 runners.
On Thursday, Lingfield Park will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of All-Weather racing in Britain.
October 30, 1989, saw the first ever All-Weather fixture at Lingfield Park, with the opening race won by Niklas Angel, trained by Conrad Allen and ridden by Richard Quinn.
Both Conrad and Richard will be at Lingfield Park along with other guests to celebrate the anniversary. Other jockeys to ride a winner at that fixture included Bruce Raymond, Michael and Richard Hills, Dale Gibson and Frankie Dettori.
Gr1 performer Delphinia (Seamie Heffernan) and Invitation (Silvestre de Sousa) line up for O’Brien in the £40,000 Ladbrokes Football Acca Boosty EBF River Eden Fillies’ Stakes (3.35pm, 14 runners) over a mile and five furlongs.
Delphinia finished second in the Gr1 Prix de Royallieu at Longchamp on October 5 and filled the same position behind Star Catcher when going down by a short-head in the Gr1 QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes at Ascot on October 19.
Ireland’s hand is bolstered further by Gr3 Musidora Stakes fourth Fresnel (Jack Davison/Ben Curtis) and Moteo (John Oxx/Ronan Whelan), who has twice placed at G3 level in 2019.
Rasima (Roger Varian/David Egan), winner of the Ladbrokes Home Of The Odds Boost EBF Fleur De Lys Fillies’ Stakes on this card 12 months ago, and lightly-raced Godolphin filly Expressionism (Charlie Appleby/Oisin Murphy) also run.
