Dear My Friend© Photo Healy Racing
Charlie Johnston’s Dear My Friend looks to extend an excellent winter into the spring as he bids for the BetMGM All-Weather Championships Mile Handicap at Newcastle.
The four-year-old is unbeaten in four runs on the all-weather, winning the Listed Burradon Stakes on Good Friday last year before embarking on a top-level turf campaign.
He may not have made the grade in the Dante, the Derby or the Hampton Court, but since returning to a synthetic surface at the beginning of this year, he has been unstoppable.
After taking a mile handicap at Newcastle on New Year’s Day, the gelding then landed the Listed Tandridge Stakes at Lingfield in February and the AWC Mile Trial Handicap at the same track in March.
Those runs provide him with a standout CV ahead of the BetMGM All-Weather Championships Mile Handicap, where he will carry top weight under Joe Fanning for owners Middleham Park Racing.
“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,” said Middleham Park’s Tim Palin.
“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.”
There is a French contender in Yann Barberot’s Fast Raaj, who has acquitted himself well this year when finishing a close second in the Prix Saonois at Cagnes-Sur-Mer and then winning the Prix Montjeu at Chantilly.
Both of those runs were on all-weather surfaces and inspired the decision to cross the Channel and try the horse over a straight mile.
Barberot 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’s Kingdom Come was third to Dear My Friend and McLean House in the AWC Mile Trial Handicap and was then the winner of the Lincoln Trial Handicap at Wolverhampton when last seen earlier this month.
“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,” the trainer said of the bay.
“It will be his first time at the track but, if he can translate his recent form, he should run a competitive race.”
McLean House also renews the rivalry from that Lingfield outing and will line up for trainer Andrew Balding in the contest.
He 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.”
King Power Racing have two entrants in Fantastic Fox and Greatgadian, both of whom are trained by Roger Varian and come into the race in good form, having fared well on the all-weather throughout the winter.
Alastair Donald, racing manager to the owners, 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.”
Julie Camacho’s Symbol Of Light was second to Dear My Friend at Lingfield in January and has been aimed at this contest for some time.
Steve Brown, Camacho’s husband and assistant, 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.”
