All-Weather Championships Media Release - Lord North stars on excellent card at Lingfield Park

Published 2019/11/14

Trained by John Gosden and ridden by Frankie Dettori, Lord North has been in excellent form this autumn, posting impressive victories at Newmarket in the Cambridgeshire Handicap and the Listed James Seymour Stakes.

The three-year-old bids for a second All-Weather victory in the feature £37,000 Listed Betway Churchill Stakes (2.45pm, seven runners) over 10 furlongs, which offers a free and guaranteed place in the £200,000 Betway Easter Classic over the same course and distance on Good Friday, April 10.

Lord North's only start on the All-Weather to date saw him saunter to an 11-length victory in a novice race on Tapeta at Newcastle in April. He is the 8/11 favourite with Betway. Gosden also saddles Crossed Baton (Pierre Charles-Boudot), a G2 runner-up in France last year.

The four-year-old has had a light campaign so far in 2019, latterly finishing second in a conditions race at Epsom Downs on August 26. Caradoc (Ed Walker/Kieran Shoemark) tackles Listed company for the first time following a progressive turf campaign.

The son of Camelot has won two of his last three starts and produced a strong late run to score narrowly on his latest outing in a valuable 10-furlong handicap at Newbury in September. All-Weather stalwart Pactolus (Stuart Williams/Richard Kingscote) ran well to be third in a mile handicap at Kempton Park on October 10, having met trouble in running.

The eight-year-old, a 12-time winner on the All-Weather, finished third behind Matterhorn in the £200,000 Betway Easter Classic on his latest visit to Lingfield Park. The seven runners also include Petite Jack (Neil King/Luke Morris), winner of the Listed Betway Quebec Stakes over course and distance in 2017, and progressive three-year-old Kuwait Currency (Richard Hannon/Sean Levey). Course scorer Mr Scaramanga (Simon Dow/Adam Kirby) completes the line-up.

Full betting on the Betway Churchill Stakes is available from Betway - https://sports.betway.com/en/sports/evt/4943013 A maximum field of 14 goes to post in the second Fast-Track Qualifier on the card, the £37,000 Listed Betway Golden Rose Stakes (3.15pm).

The winner of six-furlong contest receives a guaranteed start in the £150,000 Betway All-Weather Sprint Championship over the same distance on Good Friday, April 10.

A classy line-up is headed up by G3 scorers Judicial (Julie Camacho/Callum Rodriguez) and Above The Rest (David Barron/Clifford Lee), plus 2017 victor Gifted Master (Hugo Palmer/Jack Mitchell).

Judicial underwent wind surgery in June and has since won two of his four starts, including the Listed Beverley Bullet Sprint on August 31. The seven-year-old, who has not raced on the All-Weather since 2017, finished fifth last time out in the G3 World Trophy at Newbury on September 21.

Assistant trainer Steve Brown said today: "We have been very pleased with Judicial's preparation. "Obviously, we are trying something a bit different with him but, if all goes well, it will open up other avenues going forward. "The wind operation has clearly made a difference.

He has won twice since and we were pleased enough with him at Newbury. "We kept him back for this race, it's just a shame the draw [stall 12] has not been kind, but we will see how it unfolds. "We ran him on the All-Weather as a young horse and he was impressive in winning a race a Kempton. "I don't see the track posing a problem, as he is quite handy around Chester on the turf and has a good record there."

There is Irish representation courtesy of Beckford (Gordon Elliott IRE/Chris Hayes). The four-year-old was one of the leading juveniles in Ireland in 2017, finishing second in both the G1 Phoenix Stakes and G1 National Stakes.

Further Listed action is provided by the £37,500 British Stallion Studs EBF Gillies Fillies' Stakes (2.10pm, 14 runners), which has been switched to Lingfield Park following the abandonment of Doncaster's fixture on November 9 and therefore does not form part of the All-Weather Championships.

Lightly-raced Godolphin filly Magic Lily (Charlie Appleby/Jason Watson) is arguably the most interesting runner in the 10-furlong contest. She finished third behind Laurens in the G1 Fillies' Mile at Newmarket in October 2017 and has only had one start since, taking second in a Listed race at Saint-Cloud on October 4.

John Gosden and Frankie Dettori team up with Scentasia, winner of the Listed Ladbrokes Home Of The Odds Boost EBF Fleur De Lys Fillies' Stakes at Lingfield Park last month, while G3 runner-up Simply Beautiful (Seamie Heffernan) is one of two runners for Ireland's champion Flat trainer Aidan O'Brien. Progressive three-year-old Eva Maria (Richard Fahey/Callum Shepherd) is another eye-catching runner.

The eight-race programme starts at 11.55pm and ends at 3.45pm.

About the All-Weather Championships Season seven of the All-Weather Championships runs from Tuesday, October 22, 2019 and culminates with All-Weather Championships Finals Day on Good Friday, April 10, 2020 at Lingfield Park.

The seven races on All-Weather Championships Finals Day are worth a total of £1 million.

The season seven information pack can be downloaded by following this link and scrolling down to the bottom of the page: https://www.awchampionships.co.uk/about-the-championship/all-weather-explained/ The six championship categories are:

£150,000 Three-Year-Olds sponsored by Ladbrokes - 6f Final

£150,000 Fillies & Mares sponsored by Ladbrokes - 7f Final

£150,000 Mile sponsored by Bombardier - 1m Final

£150,000 Sprint sponsored by Betway - 6f Final

£150,000 Marathon sponsored by Betway - 2m Final £200,000 Middle Distance sponsored Betway - 10f Final

There are two ways for horses to qualify for one of the finals on All-Weather Championships Finals Day at Lingfield Park: * A horse can win a 'Fast Track Qualifier' race which will ensure a FREE and GUARANTEED place in the corresponding final on Good Friday.

There are four Fast Track Qualifiers in each of the six Championship Categories hosted at racecourses in Great Britain, Ireland and France.

If a filly wins any of the Fast-Track Qualifier races for either the Sprint or the Mile categories, the filly will be qualified for the final of that specific category, or for the Fillies and Mares Final. or * A horse must run a minimum of three times on the All-Weather surfaces in Great Britain, Ireland and France; or twice on the All-Weather surfaces in Great Britain, Ireland, France and once on dirt in Dubai during the qualifying period between October 22, 2019 and the six-day entry stage for the finals (Saturday, April 4, 2020) and then be rated high enough to 'make the cut' in a final by order of its BHA Rating.

The 24 Fast-Track Qualifiers are scheduled as follows: Category Date Racecourse Dist Race Winner 3YO 22 Oct 2019 Newcastle 6f Conditions Temple Of Heaven (Richard Hannon/Sean Levey FILLIES & MARES 31 Oct 2019 Lingfield Park 8f Listed (Fleur De Lys) Scentasia (John Gosden/David Egan) FILLIES & MARES 01 Nov 2019 Dundalk (IRE) 8f Listed (Cooley) Surrounding (Mick Halford/Ronan Whelan) SPRINT 16 Nov 2019 Lingfield Park 6f Listed (Golden Rose) MIDDLE DISTANCE 16 Nov 2019 Lingfield Park 10f Listed (Churchill) MILE 20 Nov 2019 Kempton Park 8f Listed (Hyde) MIDDLE DISTANCE 28 Nov 2019 Deauville (FR) 9.5f Listed (Lyphard) 3YO 07 Dec 2019 Wolverhampton 6f Conditions MARATHON 14 Dec 2019 Newcastle 16f Conditions FILLIES & MARES 03 Jan 2020 Wolverhampton 7f Conditions MILE 08 Jan 2020 Newcastle 8f Conditions SPRINT 08 Jan 2020 Newcastle 5f Conditions MARATHON 13 Jan 2020 Wolverhampton 16f Conditions 3YO 20 Jan 2020 Kempton Park 6f Conditions SPRINT 01 Feb 2020 Lingfield Park 6f Listed (Cleves) MIDDLE DISTANCE 01 Feb 2020 Lingfield Park 10f Listed (W D Trial) FILLIES & MARES 13 Feb 2020 Chelmsford City 8f Conditions MILE 15 Feb 2020 Cagnes-sur-Mer (FR) 8f Listed (Saonois) MARATHON 16 Feb 2020 Kempton Park 16f Conditions MIDDLE DISTANCE 22 Feb 2020 Lingfield Park 10f Group 3 (Winter Derby) 3YO 29 Feb 2020 Lingfield Park 7f Listed (Spring Cup) SPRINT 03 Mar 2020 Chantilly (FR) 6f Conditions MARATHON 07 Mar 2020 Chelmsford City 16f Conditions MILE 07 Mar 2020 Wolverhampton 7f Listed (Lady Wulfruna)

In addition to the fantastic prize money on offer, up to £10,000 will go to each of the All-Weather Champions - the 'All Stars' - based on the number of winners at the end of the All-Weather Championships season: Champion All-Weather Jockey (£8,000 to the winner /£2,000 to the runner-up)

Champion All-Weather Apprentice Jockey (£4,000 to the winner/£1,000 to the runner-up) Champion All-Weather Trainer (£10,000) Champion All-Weather Owner (£10,000)

Winning Most All-Weather Horse (£10,000) All-Weather Horse Of The Year (based on prize money won during the Championships) (£10,000)