SUMMER DAYS FOR ALL WEATHER TRIO

It's cash bonuses all round for the stars of rubber and sand, writes Ian Heitman

- Ian Heitman

The decision to scrap fast-track qualifiers and replace them with two Trials Day events could be costly for the organisers of the All-Weather championships with three horses each running for a bonus of £75,000 on All-Weather Finals Day at Newcastle on March 29.

Winners of the other nine races are running for a bonus of £30,000 each.

Those three horses, Shades Of Summer, Dear My Friend and Penzance, have already won more than £47,000 for winning at Newcastle on January 1 and at Lingfield on March 1.

With a first prize of £77,310 for the races Shades Of Summer and Dear My Friend will contest at Newcastle and £103,080 for Penzance’s race, it could be a valuable day for connections.

Lingfield Trials Day – March 1

The meeting began with an apprentice handicap over a mile and a quarter, and it was won in good style by Bystander who was making his handicap debut off a mark of 80. Taking the lead with a couple of furlongs to go, he won by a length and a half from favourite Inspiritus, and the winning distance would have been greater had he not edged right inside the final furlong.

A 6lb rise won’t be enough to stop Bystander from winning again and the All-Weather Middle-Distance Vase at Lingfield on Good Friday looks the ideal next race for this Karl Burke-trained gelding.

The first of the six trials races was for Fillies & Mares over 7f, and it attracted a field of nine with Aramis Grey carrying top weight with an official rating of 93. Cloud Cover, an easy winner at Kempton on her previous start, was the 2/1 favourite for James Tate and leading all-weather jockey Rossa Ryan. Shades Of Summer winner of the first trials race at Newcastle attracted market support and she was a 3/1 chance.