Dear My Friend eyes £75,000 bonus in BetMGM All-Weather Championships Mile Handicap

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.

Dear My Friend winning at Newcastle on January 1 (credit: Grossick Racing Photography)

The view from connections

Tim Palin of Middleham Park Racing, owner of Dear My Friend, said: “He has been a revelation since we gelded him and cleared up his wind. I think that big, long stride seems to be particularly well-suited to the all-weather and he has literally been imperious this season. He has gone up a lot in the ratings and, as the saying goes, ‘weight stops trains’, and it could be that the pesky handicapper is his nemesis on Friday. At the moment, I would not swap him for anything.”

Yann Barberot, trainer of Fast Raaj, said: “Fast Raaj has run well at Chantilly, Deauville and Cagnes-sur-Mer, so we decided to seize the opportunity to run as he qualified for this race. He has never run over a straight mile, so that is a question mark, but he’s a good horse who adapts well to all-weather surfaces. He has the right profile to be competitive in the race.”

Clive Cox, trainer of Kingdom Come, said: “He put in a very nice performance in the Lincoln Trial at Wolverhampton, coming from off the pace, and is very much at home on the all-weather surfaces. It will be his first time at the track but, if he can translate his recent form, he should run a competitive race.”

Andrew Balding, trainer of McLean House, said: “He has been very consistent this winter over seven furlongs and a mile. I think Dear My Friend will be very tough to beat, but we’ll give it our best shot.”

Alastair Donald of King Power Racing, owner of Fantastic Fox and Greatgadian, said: “When Fantastic Fox wins, he looks very good. He slightly lost his way last year but a return to the all-weather and drop back to a mile has seen a rejuvenated horse. He has been impressive this season and we meet Dear My Friend on much better terms. It has been a bit frustrating that Greatgadian hasn’t won this winter because he has not run a bad race. Occasionally, he gets called a few bad names, but I think he is pretty genuine. He just has to have a really fast pace and hit the line at the right moment. He is definitely on a mark to win a good race.”

Steve Brown, assistant trainer of Symbol Of Light, said: “This race has been his target all winter and we are looking forward to running him. He has had a decent campaign without winning, which is frustrating, but hopefully he will go well again. The weight pull with Dear My Friend is in our favour compared to New Year’s Day, but that horse has been winning cannily in my opinion and will keep finding.”

David Evans, trainer of King’s Code, said: “Things did not go his way in the Lincoln Trial but he has been in good form since. I think he has a decent chance.”

Johnny Murtagh, trainer of Final Voyage, said: “Final Voyage did his last piece of work on Tuesday and everything seems good. I thought he ran really well at Wolverhampton and was unlucky to lose out in a photo finish. William Buick was very happy with him and, when I said we would have a look at this race, he reckoned it would suit.”

Mick Appleby, trainer of Zealot, said: “He will bounce back at some point, although the handicapper has not done him any favours. Whether it will be on Friday, we will see.”

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