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MASTER THE WORLD HEADS NINE FOR BETWAY QUEBEC STAKES

Championship News
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21 December 2017

Master The World features among a field of nine for the £37,000 Listed Betway Quebec Stakes (1.45pm) over a mile and a quarter on Polytrack at Lingfield Park on Saturday, December 23. The David Elsworth-trained six-year-old, ridden by in-form Josephine Gordon for the first time, is going after a second Listed success over the same course and distance during this season's All-Weather Championships following a decisive win in the Betway Churchill Stakes on November 18. Mia Tesoro finished third behind Master The World, beaten two and a half lengths, in the Betway Churchill Stakes and had previously come home fourth in another Listed race at Lingfield Park, the mile 32Red EBF Stallions Fleur de Lys Fillies' Stakes, on November 2. The four-year-old filly, a four-time winner on turf, has thrived since joining Newmarket handler Charlie Fellowes in 2016, rising 35lb in the handicap to her current mark of 92. Regular partner Stevie Donohoe takes the ride again on the daughter of Danehill Dancer. Fellowes commented today: "Mia Tesoro ran a blinder to finish third in the Betway Churchill Stakes and came out of that race very well.  "She has a good draw (stall four), Stevie Donohoe knows her well and she has shown some decent form at Lingfield Park. "She gets another 3lb off the winner this time and, although she has a bit to find on the ratings, she will bang there if she can reproduce her last run. "I think a mile and a quarter is her best trip. We had her entered in the mile conditions race on the same card, but it looked like it would be a small field with a lack of pace, so the Betway Quebec Stakes appealed more. "Master The World looks the one to beat and is a very good horse. We are getting a pull at the weights - it might not be enough to win, but we will see how we go. "Mia Tesoro had an injury that kept her off for the first half of the summer, so she had an easy year and I don't see any point stopping over the winter. "She has a lovely way of going and we will probably keep her ticking over. We will have a look at the Winter Derby Trial - we would love to win a Stakes race and possibly get her placed at G3 level in the Winter Derby itself. "We have had a few examples in the yard of horses improving considerably with a change of scenery, like Accession, but Mia Tesoro has improved more than any other we have had. "We got her into a good space and happy at home, which made the rest relatively easy. It is amazing to think how much she has improved but Jamie Osborne, who had her before, did tell me that he always thought that she had a lot of ability but just hadn't shown it on the track." Other runners in Saturday's Betway Quebec Stakes include last year's winner Battalion (Jamie Osborne/Dougie Costello), Betway Churchill Stakes fourth Petite Jack (Archie Watson/Luke Morris) and Dolphin Vista (Martyn Meade/George Wood), successful in the valuable Cambridgeshire Handicap at Newmarket in September. Intern (David Simcock/Fran Berry) and Red Label (Marco Botti/Daniel Muscutt) have both placed at Group level on turf this year, while the field is completed by Utmost (John Gosden/Robert Havlin) and Not So Sleepy (Hughie Morrison/Adam Kirby).   Racing at Lingfield Park gets underway at noon and a seven-race card also features the 12-furlong £19,000 Betway Handicap (2.55pm), which has eight runners including Ming Dynasty (Marco Botti/Josephine Gordon), who was fourth in the G1 Hong Kong Vase in 2015. Listed Nottinghamshire Oaks runner-up Singyoursong (David Simcock/Luke Morris) and 32Red EBF Stallions Fleur de Lys Fillies' Stakes second Zest (James Fanshawe/Daniel Muscutt) headline four contenders for the mile £15,500 32Red.com/EBF Stallions Breeding Winners Fillies' Conditions Stakes (12.35pm).

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