3 minute read
Two previous winners of the £150,000 Ladbrokes Mile on All-Weather Championships Finals Day feature among a strong field for the Ladbrokes Conditions Stakes at Lingfield Park on Saturday.
Four of the five runners in the mile Polytrack contest have a BHA rating of 100 or more, including seven-year-old Captain Cat (Roger Charlton/Jamie Spencer), who holds the current course record of 1m 34.51s following an impressive win in the first running of the Good Friday feature in 2014.
Grey Mirage (Marco Botti/Martin Harley) captured the Ladbrokes Mile in 2015, while Complicit (Paul Cole/Graham Lee) went down by three quarters of a length to Tryster in the 10-furlong £200,000 Coral Easter Classic on the same card. Captain Cat and Complicit have not raced since September and August respectively.
Lamar was also second on Good Friday last year, finding Fresles a neck too strong in the £150,000 32red.Com All-Weather Fillies' And Mares' Championships Conditions Stakes over seven furlongs .
The James Tate-trained mare is one of stars of this season's All-Weather Championships with a pair of Fast-Track Qualifier victories including a half-length success in the mile Listed 32Red/ebfstallions.com Fleur de Lys Fillies' Stakes at Lingfield Park on October 29.
The five-year-old daughter of Cape Cross also scored over seven furlongs at Wolverhampton on November 27 and stayed on well to finish a close third on her latest appearance in the 10-furlong Listed Coral Quebec Stakes at Lingfield Park on December 19.
Last season's champion All-Weather jockey Luke Morris, who partnered Lamar to both her Fast-Track Qualifier wins this term, takes the ride again.
Newmarket-based Tate commented: "Lamar is flying at the moment and I thought that she should really be coming into this race on the back of a hat-trick.
"She found herself too far back from a draw that wasn't the best in the Quebec Stakes and was beaten three quarters of a length.
"She seems to have come on again for that run and, while I have all respect for opposition such as Complicit, Captain Cat and Grey Mirage, they will need to bring their A game if they are going to beat Lamar.
"Lingfield Park is probably her favourite track and I think her best trip on the All-Weather is somewhere between a mile and a mile and a quarter. We run her over seven furlongs sometimes and she gives it her best go but it is too short for her really.
"Her owner and his racing manager keep threatening to retire Lamar because she is meant to be getting covered this winter. I keep on finding another opportunity for her and we will take it race by race."
Saturday's line-up is completed by Capo Rosso (Tom Dascombe/Richard Kingscote), who was fifth behind Grey Mirage in the Ladbrokes Mile on Good Friday 2015 but last raced in September.