Cosmic Law bids to qualify for All-Weather Championship Finals

Richard Fahey is aiming for an instant impact in the sixth season of the All-Weather Championships, which kick off with theLadbrokes Home Of The Odds Boost Conditions Stakes fast-track qualifier over six furlongs at Newcastle on Tuesday.

Eight entries are looking to gain an automatic entry for the £1 million All-Weather Championship Finals Day at Lingfield in April, including the Fahey-trained Cosmic Law, who has been on the go since the beginning of May.

A six-length winner of the Woodcote Stakes at Epsom in June, the battle-hardened two-year-old has failed to reach such heights since, although a recent Listed third at York was another respectable performance.

Fahey said: "He’s had a very busy campaign. The reason to run him is to try to win the race and qualify him for the championship final. He needs a break, so we’re hoping that he qualifies here so we can give him a holiday."

On his Listed third at York, Fahey added: "It was a strange race last time, they went flat out but they kept going."

Among Cosmic Law's rivals are Implicit, a double all-weather winner for James Tate, and Princes Des Sables, who is looking for a five-timer for Kevin Ryan after four consecutive wins in nursery handicaps.

Best Mate match at Exeter

The Devon course hosts its first meeting since May after the prolonged heatwave of the summer forced an abandonment of a card earlier in the month.

The going remains fast at Exeter at good to firm but, although the meeting goes ahead, only 34 runners have been declared, including just two in the Best Mate Beginners' Chase (4.20), a race won by the three-time Cheltenham Gold Cup winner in 2000.

Philip Hobbs not concerned by conditions at Exeter for SternrubinCredit: Edward Whitaker

Sternrubin, who finished second to Yanworth in this race last season, will face the Evan Williams-trained mare Cotton Jenny in a match, but Philip Hobbs is not worried by the conditions or field size for his seven-year-old.

Hobbs said: "Sternrubin’s in very good form and has form on fast ground, so we’re not worried about that, which obviously the others are, which is why we’ve got such a small field.

"He’s had plenty of experience over fences and he can make the running, so the field size doesn’t really matter.”

Barry Johnson, clerk of the course at Exeter, was not surprised by the small number of declarations for the six-race card. He said: "I suppose it's understandable because there’s been a lot of racing the last few days and nobody has had particularly big fields.

"We weren’t expecting huge fields, we’re on good to firm and it’s fair ground, not bad, but it is quick. With the entries we had, we knew we weren’t going to get a big declaration.

"I probably would have taken 34 at the beginning of the day. Hopefully, it won’t dry out too much and they’ll all run."

Haldon Gold Cup day, a big raceday in Exeter's season, takes place in a fortnight's time, but Johnson added that the forecast was looking kinder for that meeting, with "a fair bit of rain around" next week.

Watson out for more French success

Archie Watson has sent his juveniles regularly to France this season, including Abbaye third Soldier's Call, and does so again with Showout.

The Listed Prix Zeddaan at Deauville will be a step back in class for Showout, who finished fourth in a Group 3 at Maisons-Laffitte on his previous start.

Watson said: “He ran very good to be fifth in the Gimcrack and ran a good race in the Group 3 after that, so back in a Listed race he should run a very good race."

Conditions are likely to be soft at Deauville but that should not trouble Showout, who won by five lengths in such ground earlier in the season.

The Lambourn-based trainer added: "It was only a novice at Brighton but he was very impressive that day when he won on the soft ground there. His family have always been good with cut in the ground.”

Chelmsford winner Jack's Point, trained by William Muir, provides the other British representation.

Rain would help William bring his A-game

It would seem the big jumps trainers aren’t the only ones doing a rain dance as John Hayden will want the skies to open for mudlark William Ashford before the mile handicap at Gowran Park on Tuesday (3.45).

A course-and-distance winner, William Ashford caught the eye when an unlucky third at the track last month, and will be ridden again by Tom Madden, who has been aboard for all three of his wins.

In-form Innamorare heads to Gowran

It’s one thing being able to train winners, another being good at picking out prospective talent.

Gavin Cromwell has frequently proved he has an eye for a bargain, the latest case in point being Innamorare, who was snapped up from a Gowran Park claimer for €17,000 last month and is chasing a hat-trick for her new connections in the extended 1m1f fillies' handicap (4.15) on Tuesday.

A winner at Leopardstown on Saturday, Innamorare is being turned out quickly by Cromwell, who also runs Pandagreen in the race.

He said: “It’s hard not to run Innamorare back quickly with the pot that’s on offer. The step up in trip shouldn’t be a problem and you’d have to give her a chance.”

Cromwell added: “Pandagreen had a wind operation and ran well enough on her first run back after it the last day, and we’re hoping for a good run.”

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