Horse Racing: Alfie Flits Heads Strong Field for Winter Derby

There are probably still a significant number of Flat racing fans who refuse to acknowledge the existence of all-weather tracks, never mind take an active interest in the winter programme. In their world, the sport stops in early November and starts once again at the Lincoln meeting in late March.

It is a prejudice that becomes harder to defend with every passing season, however, and the Winter Derby at Lingfield this weekend could not offer a better advertisement for racing on the sand. The 15 five-day entries include 11 horses with an official rating of 100 or higher, including Alfie Flits, who has yet to run on any all-weather surface.

"The race is on the week after Cheltenham this year, which gives it more of a chance to shine," Ian Renton, the executive director of Arena Leisure and the driving force behind the Winter Derby in its early years, said yesterday.

"I think more and more people are coming to realise that almost all turf horses act equally well on Polytrack. I think it's also recognised now that there's more difference beween Fibresand compared to Polytrack than there is with turf compared to Polytrack. As a result, this has become an early-season target for some top-class horses."

The adaptability of turf horses will be put to the test on Saturday by Illustrious Blue, the winner of a strong turf handicap at Nad Al Sheba earlier this year and a horse who could just as easily have run in the Lincoln. "He's rated 106 now," William Knight, his trainer, said yesterday, "so we have to be stepping up into races like this, and the ground would have been a worry in the Lincoln too, with him due to carry a big weight.

"The surface at Lingfield is great, it's what we train him on at home. It's got plenty of give but it rides like good ground and the great majority of horses can act on it."

Illustrious Blue is 11-2 joint-favourite for the race with BetDirect, the sponsor, alongside Sri Diamond, who won the race last year, despite starting from an apparently hopeless stall position in 14.

"We thought about going to Dubai with him," said Sylvester Kirk, trainer of Sri Diamond, "but this is a great prize and we decided to keep him going down this route. We gave him one run in January and kept him off since then, because he's a horse that's always better fresh.

"It's the sort of race that suits him perfectly, as he can be a bit fragile and we have to be a little selective with him. Lingfield and the Polytrack could have been designed specially for him, he loves it around there and it's a surface that's very forgiving for him."

The top-rated horse in the race is Alfie Flits, who started out in bumpers last year and holds an entry in a Listed event to be run over 12 furlongs at Kempton the same afternoon. That there are such choices available to good horses on the all-weather is another sign of its growing stature but Alfie Flits would be a fair bet at the sponsor's 12-1 if Alan Swinbank were to steer him towards Lingfield.

"That's the race that I'm leaning towards at the moment," Swinbank said yesterday, "but it's still only Tuesday and I wouldn't want to put anyone away.

"What I would say is that Jamie [Spencer, who could have ridden Sri Diamond] is very keen on his chance at Lingfield. But we'll have to wait a little longer and talk it through with the owners."