Lingfield AW Championship : No need to be a Eurosceptic

Mario Hofer’s Gamgoom has won half of his 22 starts and has also shown plenty of promise in three runs in the UK this winter, finishing second behind two of today’s rivals on separate occasions (Lancelot du Lac at Chelmsford and Rivellino here).

Mario Hofer’s five-year-old has a good draw (4) in the Unibet All-weather Sprint Championships Conditions Stakes and will be looking to repeat the success of Fresles, who won the 32Red All-Weather Fillies’ and Mares’ Championships Conditions Stakes twelve months ago.

Madame Pia Brandt’s daughter of Royal Applause was given a canny ride from the front by Gregory Benoist that day, making use of the horse’s stamina and kicking at just the right time turning for home. She held on by a neck to beat James Tate’s Lamar, a horse who has since added three wins to her CV.

Though Fresles was unable to match that winning feat, she went on to run with credit in a Group 3 on the turf at Lingfield, before signing off last season with a below-par run in listed company at Longchamp.

The only other runner from mainland Europe to have ventured over for this new Good Friday initiative was Growing Glory, also trained in France.

Francois Rohaut’s filly had already posted three wins before she contested the 32Red All-Weather 3 Year Old Mile Championships Conditions Stakes, however, sent off at 12/1, she was unable to get involved from her wide draw and was a well-held sixth.

Like Fresles, she was unable to add another win, though she was subsequently third in the Istanbul Trophy in Turkey before signing off in ignominious fashion last October, refusing to race in a listed contest in Spain.

Despite the proliferation of prize money on offer, there is a surprisingly low number of Irish horses declared for Friday’s racing: just six.

However, this is significantly up on the last two years, when the two Irish-trained horses acquitted themselves well.

One – Captain Joy – is back for another crack at the Ladbrokes All-Weather Mile Championships Conditions Stakes, having filled third place in the race twelve months ago. Tracey Collins’ charge returned from a spell on the sidelines with a comfortable win at Dundalk last month and, according to his trainer, has been targeted specifically at this meeting.

The only other Irish runner to have journeyed to Surrey for this meeting in the past was Matthew J. Smith’s Shalaman. He was a gallant fourth behind Tryster in the 2015 Coral Easter Classic All-Weather Middle Distance Championships Conditions Stakes, though he hasn’t added a win since (now trained by David Marnane).

If we are to learn anything from history, it is that non-UK runners perform well at this meeting, though not necessarily afterwards. Accordingly, all of the horses that have endured long, sea-faring journeys deserve closer inspection on Friday than may otherwise have been the case.