US Triple Crown nominees in action at Chelmsford City on Thursday

US Triple Crown nominee U S S Michigan features among nine runners for the inaugural running of the £60,000 Woodford Reserve Cardinal Conditions Race (3.35pm) at Chelmsford City this Thursday, April 11.

The mile Polytrack contest is the last of seven races in the 'European Road To The Kentucky Derby' and offers the winner, provided they are nominated, 30 qualification points for the opening leg of the US Triple Crown, which takes place at Churchill Downs on Saturday, May 4.

Godolphin's Royal Marine currently tops the 'European Road To The Kentucky Derby' standings with 10 points, thanks to his victory in the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere at Longchamp, France, in October.

War Front colt U S S Michigan (Ryan Moore) is one of two runners in Thursday's contest for Ireland's champion Flat trainer Aidan O'Brien and steps up in distance after taking a six-furlong Polytrack maiden in good style at Dundalk on March 1.

Along with U S S Michigan, the other runner in the Woodford Reserve Cardinal Conditions Race to have been nominated for the US Triple Crown is the Paul Cole-trained Shir Khan (Oisin Murphy).

After finishing eighth on debut in a mile turf maiden at Nottingham, Shir Khan took a big step forward under front-running tactics when scoring by five lengths in a Tapeta maiden at Wolverhampton on November 17 and has not raced since.

Oliver Cole, assistant to his father, said today: "It is going to take a fair horse to win on Thursday as it looks a hot race.

"Shir Khan has been working well. We have not done any testing work, but what we have seen, we have been pleased with.

"We don't quite know how good he is and whether he is in the deep end or not, we don't know. I expect we will find out on Thursday.

"He took a long time to come to hand physically last year, but we have always liked the horse."The winner of this race gets in the Kentucky Derby provided they are nominated and Shir Khan is. He has a bit of a dirt pedigree being by Leroidesanimaux, the sire of Animal Kingdom, and his dam is by Street Cry.

"It is a shot in the dark but after his win we thought we would enter him."

If either U S S Michigan or Shir Khan finishes second and the other does not win, then they will still get the guaranteed Kentucky Derby slot with 12 points. This is due to the fact that Woodford Reserve Cardinal Conditions Race has the most points on offer of any contest in the 'European Road To The Kentucky Derby' with 30 points for the winner, 12 for second, 6 for third and 3 for fourth.

A classy line-up also features Dark Vision (Mark Johnston/James Doyle) who made his mark at G2 level in 2018 with a last-to-first victory in the Vintage Stakes at Glorious Goodwood, after which he was purchased by Godolphin. He was below that level on his only subsequent start when last of six behind Too Darn Hot in the G2 Champagne Stakes at Doncaster in September.

King Power Racing runner Bye Bye Hong Kong (Andrew Balding/Silvestre de Sousa) finished one place ahead of Dark Vision at Doncaster before ending the campaign with a good second behind Arctic Sound in the G3 Tattersalls Stakes at Newmarket.

Hamdan Al Maktoum's Fanaar (William Haggas/Jim Crowley) has race fitness on his side, having made a winning reappearance in the Listed Ladbrokes Spring Cup at Lingfield Park on March 2.

Certain Lad (Mick Channon/Charles Bishop) is another with form at Pattern level. The Clodovil gelding finished third in the G2 Railway Stakes at the Curragh, Ireland, in June and annexed a mile Listed race in France in September.

The nine runners are completed by Cagnes-sur-Mer Listed race victor Barys (Archie Watson/Edward Greatrex), impressive Chelmsford City novice race winner Battle Of Waterloo (John Ryan/Adam Kirby) and Aidan O'Brien's other runner Antilles (Seamie Heffernan), successful on his latest start in a nursery handicap at Naas in November.

Chelmsford City Racecourse Manager, Fraser Garrity, said: " We are delighted with the quality of the line-up for this valuable new race and really pleased to have two horses with the possibility of booking themselves a place in the iconic Kentucky Derby.

"Chelmsford City is also thrilled to be welcoming runners from Ballydoyle for the first time."

Chelmsford City's eight-race programme starts at 2.00pm and ends at 5.50pm.

About the All-Weather Championships

Season six of the All-Weather Championships runs from Tuesday, October 23, 2018 and culminates with All-Weather Championships Finals Day on Good Friday, April 19, 2019, at Lingfield Park. The seven races on All-Weather Championships Finals Day are worth a total of £1 million.

The six championship categories are:

£150,000 Three-Year-Olds sponsored by Ladbrokes - 6f Final

£150,000 Fillies & Mares sponsored by Ladbrokes - 7f Final

£150,000 Mile sponsored by Sun Racing - 1m Final

£150,000 Sprint sponsored by Betway - 6f Final

£150,000 Marathon sponsored by Betway - 2m Final

£200,000 Middle Distance sponsored Betway - 10f Final

There are two ways for horses to qualify for one of the finals on All-Weather Championships Finals Day at Lingfield Park:

* A horse can win a 'Fast Track Qualifier' race which will ensure a FREE and GUARANTEED place in the corresponding final on Good Friday. There are four Fast Track Qualifiers in each of the six Championship Categories hosted at racecourses in Great Britain, Ireland and France. If a filly wins any of the Fast-Track Qualifier races for either the Sprint or the Mile categories, the filly will be qualified for the final of that specific category, or for the Fillies and Mares Final.

or

* A horse must run a minimum of three times on the All-Weather surfaces in Great Britain, Ireland and France; or twice on the All-Weather surfaces in Great Britain, Ireland, France and once on dirt in Dubai during the qualifying period between October 23, 2018 and the six-day entry stage for the finals (Saturday, April 13, 2019) and then be rated high enough to 'make the cut' in a final by order of its BHA Rating.

The 24 Fast-Track Qualifiers are scheduled as follows:

In addition to the fantastic prize money on offer, up to £10,000 will go to each of the All-Weather Champions - the 'All Stars' - based on the number of winners at the end of the All-Weather Championships season:

Champion All-Weather Jockey (£8,000 to the winner /£2,000 to the runner-up)

Champion All-Weather Apprentice Jockey (£4,000 to the winner/£1,000 to the runner-up)

Champion All-Weather Trainer (£10,000)

Champion All-Weather Owner (£10,000)

Winning Most All-Weather Horse (£10,000)

All-Weather Horse Of The Year (based on prize money won during the Championships) (£10,000)

Betway, Ladbrokes and Sun Racing are the category sponsors, while Be Wiser Insurance is the Official Partner of the All-Weather Championships.

For more information on the All-Weather Championships, please visit www.awchampionships.co.uk

For further information, please contact:

Sam Cone    

PR & Communications Manager

Arena Racing Company

Office: 020 7802 5120

Mobile: 07920 404 296

Email: scone@arenaracingcompany.co.uk

Web: www.arenaracingcompany.co.uk

3rd Floor, Millbank Tower, 21-24 Millbank, London, SW1P 4QP

About ARC:

Arena Racing Company ("ARC") is the largest racecourse operator in the UK. In 2018 ARC Group racecourses will host 552 fixtures (570 in 2019) with 1.2 million people attending racing at one of ARC's racecourses each year.

ARC is made up of the following 16 racecourses: Bath, Brighton, Chepstow, Doncaster, Ffos Las, Fontwell Park, Great Yarmouth, Hereford, Lingfield Park, Newcastle, Royal Windsor, Sedgefield, Southwell, Uttoxeter, Wolverhampton and Worcester.

ARC runs four of the six all-weather racecourses in the UK offering three different types of surface for horses to run on: Polytrack at Lingfield Park, Fibresand at Southwell Racecourse and Tapeta at Newcastle and Wolverhampton Racecourses - the only Tapeta racing surfaces in Europe.

In 2013 ARC pioneered the All-Weather Championships which see horses compete throughout the winter for the chance of qualifying for a £1-million Finals Day on Good Friday at Lingfield Park. This initiative is helping raise the profile and prestige of All-Weather racing in Great Britain.

ARC hosts racing at all levels of the sport from Class 7 through to Group 1s. Doncaster Racecourse is home to the world's oldest Classic, the St Leger, run each year in September as part of the four-day St Leger Festival as well as the Vertem Futurity Trophy, the final Group 1 of the year in Britain. Feature jump races include the Grade 1 Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle Racecourse, the Welsh Grand National at Chepstow Racecourse and Midlands Grand National at Uttoxeter Racecourse.

As well as racing, ARC also operates a hotel at Wolverhampton Racecourse, a hotel, spa resort and golf course at Lingfield Park and The Border Minstrel public house at Newcastle Racecourse in the grounds of Gosforth Park. The Hilton Garden Inn at Doncaster Racecourse opened in September, 2018.

ARC is a significant shareholder in the horseracing TV channel Sky Sports Racing which is broadcast on the Sky platform to c.14 million homes.

ARC plays a pivotal role in British Racing. It is a shareholder in British Champions Series and Racecourse Data Company; a signatory to a British Horseracing Authority's and Horsemen's Group Prize Money Agreement; and on the boards of the Racecourse Association ("RCA"), Great British Racing ("GBR") and British Champion Series ("BCS").

In 2015 ARC set up The Racing Partnership. This limited company represents the media rights of the 16 ARC owned-racecourses and the six independent racecourses Fakenham, Hexham, Newton Abbot, Plumpton, Ripon and Towcester.

In addition to racecourses ARC owns Newcastle and Sunderland Greyhound Stadia and looks after the media interests of the Greyhound Media Group ("GMG").

ARC employs 650 permanent staff and engages with 3,500 casual staff for racing and events across its racecourses. 

Further information about ARC can be found at www.arenaracingcompany.co.uk