This year there are some notable changes to the structure of the All-Weather Championships, including removing the 'Fast Track Qualifier' status from races which previously earned horses a guaranteed entry to the Final in each category. The rule requiring three runs on an all-weather racing surface in Britain [at either Chelmsford City, Kempton Park, Lingfield Park, Newcastle, Southwell or Wolverhampton, Ireland or France to qualify for the Newcastle and Lingfield Park fixtures remains, and one of the three runs can take place in either Dubai or Saudi Arabia.

Prize-money values will remain unchanged with each Final continuing to offer £150,000, with the Middle-Distance Final set at £200,000.

New for Season XI will be two All-Weather Championships Trials Day fixtures, hosting a series of £45,000 open handicaps at Newcastle on Jan. 1 and Lingfield Park on Mar. 1. The winner of each race will be eligible for free entry to the corresponding Finals Day race at Newcastle and a £30,000 bonus should they go on to also win the finals. Any horse that wins at both All-Weather Trials Days in the same category and goes on to also win at Newcastle will be eligible for a total bonus of £75,000.

ARC also announced the return of the £1-million All-Weather Bonus Scheme earlier this year, which will once again offer monthly, and end of season, rewards to the most consistent performers across the groups four all-weather racecourses. The scheme runs in conjunction with the All-Weather Championships, starting on the same date, Oct. 17.

“The All-Weather Championships is a popular competition throughout the winter months,” Managing Director of ARC's Racing Division, Mark Spincer, said. “We have, however, looked at the structure of the programme, in conjunction with the BHA, that ultimately leads horses to either Newcastle or Lingfield Park on Good Friday and made a few adjustments.”

For more information, please visit the All-Weather Championships website.

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The four-year-old looks set to start his 2023 campaign in the Listed Spreadex Sports Lady Wulfruna S., in which he could face the G2 Coventry S winner of 2021, Berkshire Shadow (Ire), who is also by Dark Angel.

“Angel Bleu has been in training all winter and the intention is to start him off at Wolverhampton on Saturday,” said trainer Ralph Beckett. “This is not a prep for the All-Weather Championships finals but it is a prep for the rest of the year.”

The Andrew Balding-trained Berkshire Shadow was fifth in last season's G1 2000 Guineas, just one place ahead of Lusail (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), who is also entered for Saturday's race and was last seen running sixth in the G3 1351 Turf Sprint on the Saudi Cup card in Riyadh. HIs trainer Richard Hannon has won two of the last three editions of the Lady Wulfruna S, including in 2021 with Mums Tipple (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}), who is another of the 14 entries. 

Hannon said, “I have given Lusail an entry and we will decide whether he runs once I have discussed it with [his owner] Al Shaqab Racing. He has come back from Saudi as good as gold. I thought he ran well out there but it showed he needs a bit further than that. He will go on the surface at Wolverhampton no problem and could well take his chance.

Last year's Lady Wulfruna winner Tinker Toy (GB) (War Front) is entered to defend his title for Roger Varian and owner/breeder Craig Bennett, while another notable potential runner is the Charlie Appleby-trained Noble Dynasty (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), who is rated 106 and has won three of his last four starts. 

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The son of Dansili enjoyed an excellent record at the track for his previous trainer John Gosden, winning three of his four starts including this race in 2019 and the 2020 Group 3 Betway Winter Derby.

Now trained by David Loughnane, Dubai Warrior was last on his debut for the stable in the G3 Diamond Stakes at Dundalk in County Louth, Ireland, in September but shaped much better in fifth behind Pyledriver in the Listed Betway Churchill Stakes at Lingfield Park on November 13.

Richard Kingscote deployed more positive tactics today and positioned Dubai Warrior in behind front runners Garden Paradise and Palavecino in the early stages. The duo was relegated to fifth at the four-furlong pole before making a decisive move widest of all approaching the home turn.

Dubai Warrior, sent off a 13/2 chance, led at the top of the straight and dug in gamely as Regal Reality closed all the way to the line. The winning distance was a nose, with 5/2 favorite Felix two lengths further back in third.

Loughnane said: “Dubai Warrior is a class horse and very good around here. It is brilliant to get a winner on the board for his owner [Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum].

“He is a very easy horse to train and maps out his own races. We don't have to do too much with him.

“He had a setback and then was gelded. He used to get a bit worked up and sweaty before his races but that can be typical of his sire's progeny, but he is a happy horse now and happy horses win races.

“We just think the eye-shields help him put his head down. Richard gave him a great ride and, once this horse gets rolling, it takes a good one to go with him.

“The aim now will be the Winter Derby and then Finals Day itself will be a long-term target. I would think he will come back here for the Winter Derby Trial as well.”

Kingscote said: “It probably wasn't the smoothest race for Dubai Warrior. He needs to get rolling early, which meant I had to get myself out and come too wide.

“I thought coming to the half-furlong pole, my momentum was just finishing and Ryan [Moore] was coming on the second, but Dubai Warrior really stuck his neck out.

“He is a smart horse, particularly around here, and there should be more pots in him going forward.”

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Managing Director of ARC's Racing Division, Mark Spincer, said, “We are pleased to confirm our specific prize money investment plans for programme book one 2022 as part of the overall announcements that we made in October.

“Our flat programme throughout this time will continue to run above minimum values, and we very much look forward to introducing the new bonus for Class 5 and 6 divided races from January, alongside free entry for flat owners during February and March.  Equally, we hope that the reshaping of Good Friday, with the All-Weather Vase fixture at Lingfield Park, will give more horses an end of season target, and an excellent day out for connections.”

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Lingfield, which previously hosted the meeting, will instead hold the new £395,000 All-Weather Vase that same day. The All-Weather Vase card, featuring six races, is for those horses who regularly compete on the all-weather circuit, but who are not rated high enough to get into the All-Weather Championships proper. The current requirement for horses to undertake three runs in order to qualify to run on Finals Day also applies to the Vase card.

Coral and MansionBet are also new partners alongside Betway for the fixtures. For more information, please visit the All-Weather Championships website.

Mark Spincer, Managing Director of ARC's Racing Division, said, “All-Weather Championships Finals Day has, over the years, become a mainstay of the Easter programme in Britain. As we saw prior to the disruption of the last two years, people want to come racing on Good Friday and we feel that Newcastle offers a real opportunity to develop the day even further. Equal to this is the popularity of the track and racing surface, as has been proved since the installation of the Tapeta in 2016. The six All-Weather Championships Finals alongside the Listed Coral Burradon S. will be a premier fixture befitting of the fantastic racing facilities that have been developed at Gosforth Park.

“We are confident that the new All-Weather Championships Vase fixture at Lingfield Park will be equally popular with racegoers and horsemen alike. There are plenty of owners and trainers who support the Championships throughout the winter, but who often don't compete on Finals Day. We wanted to make sure that we could introduce a new flagship event to cater for this cohort of horses, as a real end of season target for their winter campaigns.

“We hope that these changes, along with the other smaller amendments to the Fast-Track Qualifier programme, will mean that Season 9 continues to provide everyone concerned with a fantastic competition to follow over the course of the winter months.”

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Kingscote rode 79 winners-seven more than runner-up Hollie Doyle-for his first champion all-weather jockey title.

“It has been a great winter from start to finish,” Kingscote said. “I am very grateful for all the support and my agent Guy Jewel has done a good job. It has been a solid season to ride 79 winners and they have flowed nicely through the year. I am pleased with myself.

“For me, only being able to ride at one meeting has been a positive and I think a lot of the lads in the weighing room are now in favour. You can relax a bit into your day and there is no rushing because you are worried that you are going to let somebody down by not getting somewhere. It has been nice.”

Appleby, meanwhile, was earning his title for the fourth consecutive season, and fifth overall, with 59 wins.

“It is a good achievement, we've got a great team at home who work very hard all winter, so they all deserve it,” Appleby said. “We have a great bunch of owners, they back the yard and a lot of the owners have been with us a long time, so it's a great achievement.”

Reflecting on the key factors that have turned the all-weather season into such a success, Appleby added, “I think the tracks are a lot better now, the surfaces are getting a lot better than they used to be, and they are putting a lot better races on.”

Ghiani, who is apprenticed to Stuart Williams, took the apprentice's title with 28 winners.

“I am really grateful; this is my third season and it has been going well,” Ghiani said. “I have never been close to being champion apprentice and this year I had a great opportunity to find some good horses and good trainers who will support me.

“My first winner was here at Lingfield two years ago and now I'm on 65 winners, so it's been a lot of winners since. Stuart Williams has helped me a lot–I am really thankful to him.

“Starting out with Luca Cumani definitely helped me a lot because when I first got here, I was at the racing school and obviously I'd just started riding racehorses. He taught me how to gallop, how to canter, the right paces, and then sent me to his son Matt Cumani in Australia for a winter. He gave me a good chance to learn faster and then has kept supporting me like an owner when he retired. He still sends me messages if I have ridden a horse and he didn't like the ride. I am definitely going to try to be champion jockey on the turf. I have some good trainers supporting me and hopefully they have some nice horses for me too.”

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