Marco Botti is hoping that
Grendisar and Sir Robert Cheval can justify going for All-Weather
Championships Finals Day, Friday, April 18, with victories at Lingfield Park
over the coming days.
The Newmarket trainer is
already guaranteed a representative in the Good Friday extravaganza at the
Surrey course with Grey Mirage having won a Fast-Track Qualifier for the
£150,000 ladbrokes.co.uk All-Weather Mile Championships Conditions Stakes.
Grendisar is set to run
this Friday, March 14, in the 12-furlong £20,000 Coral Mobile "Just Three
Clicks to Bet" Handicap, following a comfortable handicap success over the
same course and distance on February 1.
The progressive
four-year-old, who has registered four wins on Polytrack, faded to fifth in the
two-mile 32Red Conditions Stakes, also at Lingfield Park, on January 22.
Botti reported:
"Grendisar is likely to run at Lingfield Park on Friday. He's in good form
and won nicely at the course last time. He has been holding his form, although
he didn't quite stay two miles which is why we switched him back down in trip.
"He seems to have
improved a lot on the All-Weather this winter. He is one of those horses who is
probably still a few pounds better than his current mark of 95 because he never
wins by far and is possibly holding a bit back for himself.
"A mile and a half is
his best trip and we would like to aim him at the coral.co.uk All-Weather
Championship Apprentice Handicap on Good Friday. It's a valuable race and I
expect a few agents will be ringing up trying to get the ride on him."
The 11 entries for the
Coral Mobile "Just Three Clicks to Bet" Handicap also include Blue
Wave (Mark Johnston), who has recorded a pair of wins at Wolverhampton
since finishing third behind Grendisar on February 1, Ladbrokes St Leger ninth Great
Hall (Brian Meehan) and recent Marathon Fast-Track Qualifier third Duchess
Of Grazeley (Dean Ivory).
Botti is also looking
forward to seeing Sir Robert Cheval return in the £45,000 Listed 32Red Spring
Cup, on Saturday, March 22, a Fast-Track Qualifier. The winner of the
seven-furlong contest receives an automatic free berth in the 32Red All-Weather
Three-Year-Old Championships Conditions Stakes on Good Friday.
Sir Robert Cheval was the
facile winner of a course and distance maiden on November 13 and went down by a
length to Complicit in 32Red Conditions Stakes, also over seven furlongs at
Lingfield Park, on his third racecourse appearance 10 days later.
Botti continued: "Sir
Robert Cheval is set to run in the Spring Cup. We have given him a break and
have been very pleased with the way he has been working.
"He was still a
little bit inexperienced when he was beaten by Complicit last time. It wasn't
our plan to make the running on him but we ended up in front. A horse with more
experience beat him and the time was good.
"He looks a better
horse this year and we would like to get him qualified for Good Friday."
A seven-race card on
Saturday, March 22, also includes two further Fast-Track Qualifiers - the
£100,000 Group Three coral.co.uk Winter Derby and the £45,000 bookmakers.co.uk
Hever Sprint Stakes.
Horses qualify for the six
championship contests on £1-million All-Weather Championships Finals Day (Good
Friday, April 18, 2014) by running in a minimum of three races at Britain's
All-Weather tracks - three owned by ARC, Lingfield Park, Southwell and
Wolverhampton, and The Jockey Club's Kempton Park - between October 26 and
April 12 or else by succeeding in one of the 16 Fast-Track Qualifiers.
Lingfield Park Race
Programme All-Weather Championships Finals Day, Good Friday, April 18, 2014
13.45
£50,000 coral.co.uk All-Weather Championships Apprentice Handicap (1m 4f)
14.20
£150,000 32Red.com All-Weather Fillies' & Mares' Championships Conditions
Stakes (7f)
14.55
£150,000 32Red All-Weather Three-Year-Old Championships Conditions Stakes (7f)
15.30
£150,000 32Red Casino All-Weather Marathon Championships Conditions Stakes (2m)
16.05
£150,000 bookmakers.co.uk All-Weather Sprint Championships Conditions Stakes
(6f)
16.40
£150,000 ladbrokes.co.uk All-Weather Mile Championships Conditions Stakes (1m)
17.20
£200,000 Coral Easter Classic All-Weather Middle-Distance Championships
Conditions Stakes (1m 2f)
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