Charlie Fellowes is hoping Erhaaf can make up into a contender for £150,000 Betway Marathon Championships over two miles on Polytrack at Lingfield Park on All-Weather Championships Finals Day, Good Friday, April 14. The lightly-raced four-year-old has raced exclusively over 10 furlongs, but is set to have his stamina tested in the £20,000 Betway Handicap (7.45pm, 15 entries) over just short of a mile and six furlongs on Tapeta at Wolverhampton on Saturday, December 3. Previously owned by Hamdan Al Maktoum, the son of Street Sense was bought out Owen Burrows' stable at Goffs in August after winning a maiden at Chelmsford City and finishing fourth in handicap at Newmarket earlier this year. Erhaaf's first start for current connections saw him finish a close third in a competitive class two handicap at Chelmsford City on November 3. Newmarket-based Fellowes said today: "Erhaaf is in good shape. He has had a catalogue of problems but I hope they are behind him now because he has been pretty good for us so far, touch wood. "He ran a lovely race first time out for us. They went very quick and it fell into his lap a little bit but he should have won. I don't think there is any doubt that had we finished second we might have got the race in the stewards' room because it got quite messy late on. "I don't see the step up in trip being a problem and we have already got half an eye on the two-mile race on Good Friday. He has plenty of stamina in the pedigree and the way he ran last time would suggest he is desperate for a step up in trip." Erhaaf's potential rivals on Saturday include last year's winner First Mohican (Alan King), three-year-old Winning Story (Saeed bin Suroor), who contested the Lingfield Derby Trial in the spring, and course scorer Watersmeet (Mark Johnston). The inaugural running of the Betway Handicap in 2013 was won by Litigant who went on to win the Marathon Championships on Good Friday. Wolverhampton's card is headlined by £19,000 32Red.com Conditions Stakes (7.15pm, 11 entries) over five furlongs, which is a Fast-Track Qualifier for the £150,000 32Red.com Three-Year-Old Championships at Lingfield Park on Good Friday, April 14. Every All-Weather race run in Britain between October 27, 2016, and Good Friday, April 14, 2017, is part of the All-Weather Championships.
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