All-Weather Championships Media Release, Thursday, December 5, 2019

French raider Be Ahead among 11 in Saturday's Fast-Track Qualifier at Wolverhampton French challenger Be Ahead is chasing Fast-Track Qualifier success in the £14,000 Ladbrokes 'Play 1-2-Free' On Football Conditions Stakes (6.20pm, 11 runners) at Wolverhampton on Saturday, December 7.

The six-furlong Tapeta contest hands the winner a free and guaranteed start in the £150,000 Ladbrokes Three-Year-Old All-Weather Championship over the same distance at Lingfield Park on Finals Day, Good Friday, April 10.

Be Ahead (Eoghan O'Neill/Franny Norton) is aiming for a second course success at Wolverhampton, having landed a five-furlong auction maiden in decisive fashion on her All-Weather debut in October.

Prior to that, the daughter of Dream Ahead ran three times on turf in France, hitting the frame on each occasion in six-furlong maidens at Chantilly and Deauville.

Trainer Eoghan O'Neill said today: "Be Ahead is fine and that is why we are bringing her over again. "I don't know too much about the form of the opposition, but I would imagine she is going to be a bit of an outsider because the form of her last win is not strong. "She will have to step up again to be competitive, so let's see how she gets on."

Three horses come into the race on the back of successes in novice contests on the All-Weather - Wolverhampton scorer Auchterarder (Mark Johnson/Jason Hart), Kempton Park victor Raaeb (Saeed bin Suroor/Jim Crowley) and Lingfield Park winner Dancin Inthestreet (William Haggas/Tom Marquand).

Maystar (Archie Watson/Hollie Doyle) captured a Fibresand novice race at Southwell in August before finishing second in a valuable sales race at the Curragh on Irish Champions Weekend in September.

He has been gelded since his last run in October, when he disappointed in a Listed race on turf at Deauville.

Tony Carroll is represented by stable debutant Kondratiev Wave (James Doyle).

He raced three times in Ireland for Kieran Cotter, winning a Curragh maiden on testing ground prior to a fourth in the Listed Legacy Stakes on October 13.

Others to note include course and distance scorer Stone Soldier (James Given/Barry McHugh) and the lightly-raced Zim Baby (Paul George/Luke Morris), who has not raced since capturing a turf maiden in June. Lexington Rebel (Richard Hannon/Clifford Lee), Get Boosting (Keith Dalgleish/Joe Fanning) and Lincoln Blue (Jane Chapple-Hyam/Richard Kingscote) complete the 11 runners.

Elsewhere on the card, All Yours (Sean Curran/Joe Haynes) bids for a fourth straight win on the All-Weather in the £19,000 Betway Handicap (7.20pm, eight runners) over 12 furlongs. A G1 winner over hurdles for Paul Nicholls at Aintree in 2015, All Yours completed a hat-trick of wins at Kempton Park in the valuable Matchbook London Middle Distance Series Final Handicap on November 19.

Wolverhampton's eight-race programme starts at 4.50pm and ends at 8.20pm.

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.