All-Weather Championships Media Release Monday, December

Published 2019/12/02

Classy stayer Weekender heads an excellent field for the 12-furlong £45,000 Listed 32Red Wild Flower Stakes (5.40pm), highlight of an eight-race card under the floodlights at Kempton Park on Wednesday, December 4.

The five-year-old, trained by John Gosden and ridden by Robert Havlin, was runner-up in the Ebor Handicap in August, 2018, and went on to finish third in the G1 Irish St Leger the following month.

Khalid Abdullah's homebred is unbeaten in three previous All-Weather appearances, most recently when comfortably accounting for G3 winner Danehill Kodiac in a 14-furlong conditions race at Chelmsford City in May.

The Abdullah silks will also be carried by course and distance winner Collide (Hugo Palmer/Jack Mitchell), who was fifth in the Duke Of Edinburgh Handicap at Royal Ascot and has undergone wind surgery since disappointing in a valuable Newmarket handicap in July.

Lightly-raced four-year-old Mildenberger (Mark Johnston/Joe Fanning) makes his All-Weather debut having shown an excellent level of form on turf.

The Teofilo colt has placed at G2 level five times, including a fine third behind Stradivarius on his latest outing in the Yorkshire Cup over 14 furlongs in May.

Loxley (Charlie Appleby/James Doyle) captured the G2 Grand Prix de Deauville in France in August, 2018, and the Godolphin-owned four-year-old has filled the runner-up spot at Listed level on his two most recent starts.

The son of New Approach was beaten a nose in the Listed Godolphin Stakes on turf at Newmarket in September and found G1 Hong Kong Vase contender Young Rascal three lengths too strong in the Listed Matchbook Floodlit Stakes, run over the same course and distance as the 32Red Wild Flower Stakes on November 4.

Appleby said: "Loxley has put up solid efforts on his last two runs and ran a good race over this course and distance last time out behind Young Rascal, who is a very good horse. "He has a bit to find on the book with Weekender but, if Loxley reproduces his last two performances, it should make him very competitive. "Hopefully, he can run another good race and we can look at taking him out to Dubai again for some of the nice races during the Carnival there."

Young Rascal's trainer William Haggas relies on G2 King Edward VII Stakes fifth Pablo Escobarr (Tom Marquand), who switches to Polytrack after finishing second to Lord North in the Listed James Seymour Stakes at Newmarket on November 2.

Hameem (John Gosden/Jim Crowley) scored by five lengths over the course and distance in a fillies' handicap in August and was a closing second in the Listed Ladbrokes River Eden Fillies' Stakes at Lingfield Park at the end of October.

The eight-strong field is completed by Hulcote (Clive Cox/Hector Crouch), a Listed runner-up on turf at Bath in October, and Hermosura (Ralph Beckett/Richard Kingscote), who has twice won 12-furlong handicaps at Kempton Park this year.

Racing gets underway at 3.40pm and runs through until 7.10pm.

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.

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