Channon expecting big run from Volunteer Point
Lamar makes a quick reappearance in the £30,000 Toteexacta Fillies´ Conditions Stakes (2.45pm, six runners) on Polytrack at Chelmsford City on Saturday, January 16.
The seven-furlong contest is a Fast-Track Qualifier for the £150,000 32Red All-Weather Fillies' And Mares' Championship over the same distance at Lingfield Park on All-Weather Championships Finals Day, Good Friday, March 25.
The toteexacta Fillies' Conditions Stakes is the second of four Fast-Track Qualifiers at Chelmsford City this season. The first on January 2 saw Lancelot Du Lac get the better of German raider Gamgoom in a Fast-Track Qualifier for the £150,000 Unibet All-Weather Sprint Championships. Further Fast-Track Qualifiers take place at Chelmsford City on February 7 (for the Unibet 3-Y-O Sprint All-Weather Championships) and on March 3 (for 32Red All-Weather Marathon Championships).
Trained by James Tate and ridden by Luke Morris, Lamar notched up her third win of the 2015/16 championships with a decisive three-length victory over Captain Cat in a mile conditions event at Lingfield Park on January 9.
The five-year-old Cape Cross mare has already captured two Fast-Track Qualifiers this season, including a first Listed success in the 32Red/ebfstallions.com Fleur de Lys Fillies' Stakes over a mile at Lingfield Park in October. Her only defeat came when a close third to Don't Be in the 10-furlong Listed Coral Quebec Stakes at the same venue on December 19.
Tate said today: "Lamar is flying. She has been flying all winter and I could not be happier with her.
"Last week's race did not appear to take anything out of her and she has actually put on two kilos for it.
"She is top-rated by a decent margin on Saturday and it looks a very winnable race, so fingers crossed she can keep up the winning run.
"It is hard to say whether or not last week was a career best but the handicapper thinks it was. She is now rated 106 and I would say she seems in career best-form - she is moving great and looking great.
"She never gets clipped and seems to love the winter. She has always got a shiny, glossy coat and when you see her in the paddock next to other fillies at this time of the year, it is like chalk and cheese.
"I am hoping that we will be able to go for the Winter Derby Trial (Lingfield Park) on February 6 and then after that I will have to have discussions with her owner because she can be covered from mid-February onwards."
Lamar's five rivals include progressive four-year-old Volunteer Point (Mick Channon/Graham Gibbons), who was fourth in another Fast-Track Qualifier, the Listed Prix Miss Satamixa over seven and a half furlongs at Deauville on December 27.
She captured a mile handicap at Chelmsford City on December 7, having looked a touch unlucky when second in a handicap over the same course and distance on November 19.
Channon explained: "Volunteer Point is in great form. She ran a cracker in the Listed race at Deauville last time, just missing out on a bit of black type, but she did nothing wrong.
"Lamar is a very good filly - her record on the All-Weather is excellent - but I think our filly is improving and goes there with a good chance.
"We have got a little bit to find on the book but that is nature of the beast - good prize money attracts good horses."
Spicy Jam (Marco Botti/Pat Cosgrave) is a dual Listed scorer in Italy, while Godolphin's Shamardal four-year-old My Call (Saeed bin Suroor/Martin Harley) is the dark horse in the field, having won on two of her three starts - a Pontefract turf maiden on debut in May and a Wolverhampton handicap on Tapeta in December, both over six furlongs.
The line-up is completed by Secret Hint (Andrew Balding/Liam Keniry) and Maggie Pink (Mick Appleby/Andrew Mullen).
