Grendisar and Educate feature among a field of seven for the £40,000 Listed Betway Quebec Stakes (2.00pm) over a mile and a quarter on Polytrack at Lingfield Park on Saturday, December 17. Last season's All-Weather Horse of the Year Grendisar (Marco Botti/George Baker) has already gained six wins over the course and distance, including the Group Three Winter Derby and the £200,000 Middle Distance Championship Final during the 2015/16 campaign. The six-year-old makes his second appearance during this year's All-Weather Championships, having stayed on well to take fourth in the Listed Betway Churchill Stakes, also over 10 furlongs at Lingfield Park, on November 12. Educate (Ismail Mohammed/Jim Crowley) was runner-up in the Betway Churchill Stakes and the seven-year-old has shown a high level of form on turf and the All-Weather, winning this year's John Smith Cup at York and finishing a close fifth on Tapeta in the G1 Al Maktoum Challenge Round Three at Meydan, UAE, in 2014. Battalion aims for a fourth victory over a mile and a quarter at Lingfield Park. The son of Authorized captured the Listed Churchill Stakes in November, 2014, and also scored in a conditions race at the course in December, 2015. He joined Jamie Osborne in October and made a perfect start for his new connections when powering to a four-length success under William Carson, who takes the ride again, in another 10-furlong conditions race on November 30. Lambourn-based Osborne said today: "Battalion is in good form. Clearly, on official numbers he has a bit to find with both Grendisar and Educate, but he was pretty good around Lingfield the other day. You would expect him to have some sort of chance. "We have decided to keep him here through the winter rather than go out to Dubai. The Betway Easter Classic (on Good Friday, 2017 and worth £200,000) is the target and he will go for the big 10-furlong races along the way." Dubai Fashion (Saeed bin Suroor/Pat Cosgrave) and Brandybend (Marco Botti/Luke Morris) have both finished second at Listed level on turf, with recent Lingfield Park winner Forceful Appeal (Simon Dow/John Egan) and Mercy Me (John Ryan/David Probert) completing the line-up. An eight-race card at Lingfield Park also features the £19,000 Download The Betway App Handicap (12.15pm). A field of eight for the 12-furlong contest includes last year's winner Barye (Richard Hughes/Shane Kelly), who has since finished fourth in the G3 September Stakes. Recent Lingfield Park scorer Bargain Buy (William Haggas/Pat Cosgrave) and Yeah Baby Yeah (Gay Kelleway/Aaron Jones (3)), who won at Deauville in August, are among the seven runners for the mile £16,500 EBF Stallions Breeding Winners Fillies' Conditions Stakes (1.25pm). Racing gets underway at 11.45am with the 32Redbingo.com Novice Stakes (11.45pm) over a mile, which has four runners including Mr Scaramanga (Simon Dow/Jim Crowley), who was third in the G2 Superlative Stakes at Newmarket in July.
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