Chancellor and No Lunch are on course for a potential Finals Day showdown at Newcastle on Good Friday, April 3, with the duo topping the entries for the BetMGM All-Weather Championships Mile Handicap.
No Lunch has enjoyed a superb winter in France for Christophe Ferland with five straight victories, including a trio of Listed races at Deauville and Cagnes-sur-Mer. The five-year-old is unbeaten in eight starts on Polytrack, although has yet to tackle handicap company.
Chancellor has been one of the leading lights this side of the English Channel. Trained by John & Thady Gosden, the four-year-old was a dominant winner of the Listed BetMGM Tandridge Stakes and went down by a neck to Sky Safari in the G3 Midnite Winter Derby on his first attempt at 10 furlongs.
Chris Richardson, Managing Director of Cheveley Park Stud, said: “The plan is for Chancellor to run on Finals Day. We had him entered in the Listed race at Doncaster on Saturday, as an ease in the ground on turf would suit him, but we felt taking on Docklands might have been a step too far.
“Following on from wind surgery and a gelding operation, Chancellor has put together four nice performances over the winter. We hoped he would win the Winter Derby and it was a shame he got touched off there, although it was another solid run.
“The Mile looks like it is going to be very competitive with the French horse and Tyrrhenian Sea, who we beat in the Tandridge Stakes earlier in the season. The stiff mile should suit our horse and he goes there in good order.”
As well as holding an entry in the Mile, Roger Varian’s dual Listed winner Tyrrhenian Sea has the option of the Midnite All-Weather Easter Classic over 10 furlongs, a race he finished second in four years ago when it was a level-weights contest.
Gaucher is a notable contender for Willie Mullins, having won his last two starts at Dundalk by wide margins, while Regal Ulixes is likely to be a leading player for Andrew Balding judged on his AWC Trials Day victory at Lingfield Park.
The Midnite All-Weather Sprint Handicap over six furlongs promises to be ultra-competitive, with a host of in-form challengers including Heathcliff (James Fanshawe), Germanic (Julie Camacho) and Ireland’s Sir Les Patterson (Stephen Thorne).
Several of the runners from a valuable handicap at Southwell on New Year’s Day could meet again, including the winner Pocklington (Geoff Oldroyd), third Lakers (Kevin Philippart de Foy) and fifth Coul Angel (Mick Appleby).
Cesarewitch hero Beylerbeyi is set to revert to a more favourable distance in the Midnite All-Weather Easter Plate Marathon Handicap over an extended two miles, following three encouraging performances over shorter this season for Ian Williams.
Beylerbeyi’s stablemate Enemy and the Michael Bell-trained Duke Of Oxford delivered decisive AWC Trials Day wins last time out, while Tribal Star will be hoping to better his runner-up finish from last year for Ado McGuinness.
Andrew Balding has captured the past three editions of the BetMGM All-Weather 3 Year Old Championships Handicap and Silent Strike is his lone entry this year. The son of Mehmas has placed in all three starts, including an easy win at Kempton Park on his penultimate outing.
Ten Carat Harry and Al Najashi, who have both racked up winning sequences this winter for Jamie Osborne and Ollie Sangster, head the potential opposition alongside Ed Walker’s Lingfield Park novice victor Northern Empire.
Irish raider Carolina Jetstream (Robson de Aguiar) and Stateira (Andrew Balding) appear to be the standout contenders in the BetMGM Fillies' And Mares' Championships Handicap, with both four-year-olds producing career-best efforts last time out.
There are six previous Finals Day winners among the entries – Berkshire Whisper, Heavenly Heather, Fivethousandtoone, Prydwen, Storm Star and We Never Stop.
