WARMING UP FOR FINALS DAY

Ian Heitman has already seen plenty of action in the All-Weather Championships

- Ian Heitman

The eighth season of the AllWeather Championships began at Newcastle on October 20 and a couple of months in, a number of horses have already booked their spot for Finals Day at Lingfield on Good Friday having won one of the 24 Fast Track Qualifiers, four within each of the six categories. Horses can also qualify for Finals Day by having three starts on the all-weather in either the UK, Ireland, France or on the dirt in Dubai, from October 20 to the six-day entry stage for the finals, March 28.

Three-Year-Old

The opening day of the new season saw the first of the qualifiers take place, a 6f conditions race at Newcastle. Yazaman from the William Haggas yard brought the best form into the five-runner race having been placed a couple of times in Group 2 company in the summer and he was sent off the even money favourite. He was well placed to win the second race of his career chasing the pace set by Significantly, but he was a bit outpaced with a couple of furlongs to go, running on too late to catch the all the way winner who was breaking his maiden at the eighth time of asking, holding on to win by three quarters of a length with Victory Heights a neck away in third.

Significantly had been a bit frustrating, finishing second on five of his previous seven starts but this was good way to get off the mark and his trainer Karl Burke could give him a run in the New Year prior to contesting the final.