Finals Day could play host to a rare weight-carrying feat as Dear My Friend bids to defy a rating of 113 and 10st 1lb in the BetMGM All-Weather Championships Mile Handicap.
Charlie Johnston’s flagbearer has climbed 16lb in the ratings this season thanks to AWC Trials Day wins at Newcastle and Lingfield Park, as well as a second career Listed success in the BetMGM Tandridge Stakes.
Only Trueshan, who overcame a rating of 120 in the 2022 Northumberland Plate, and Ocean Tempest, successful off 115 at Chester in 2014, have scored off a higher mark in UK handicaps in recent years.
French raider Fast Raaj heads a host of talented opponents in receipt of weight, with the dual G3 winner aiming to give trainer Yann Barberot a second Finals Day win after Bouttemont in 2022.
Symbol Of Light (Julie Camacho) and Fantastic Fox, one of two runners for Roger Varian and King Power Racing, both caught the eye behind Dear My Friend at the course on New Year’s Day and meet on significantly better terms.
The same applies to McLean House (Andrew Balding) and Kingdom Come (Clive Cox), who filled the places behind Dear My Friend at Lingfield Park.
Kingdom Come has since annexed the BetMGM Lincoln Trial at Wolverhampton, a race in which Johnny Murtagh’s Final Voyage went down by a head and the David Evans-trained King’s Code finished an eye-catching fourth.
King Power Racing’s other runner Greatgadian has been runner-up on all three starts at Newcastle so far this season, including behind Master Zoffany (Richard Fahey) in December.
Tempus, a dual G3 winner in 2022, returns to handicap company for Archie Watson after finishing fifth behind Hooking in a Listed race at Cagnes-sur-Mer.
Zealot hopes to recapture the form that yielded seven wins for Mick Appleby during last season’s All-Weather Championships.
Talis Evolvere and Tropez Power complete the field for Richard Hannon and John & Sean Quinn.
