Alfredo Arcano © Photo Healy Racing
Alfredo Arcano will do his best to overhaul Kachy in the Betway Sprint on the big card at Lingfield on Friday.
David Marnane’s five-year-old has been competing with credit in Dubai and won at Dundalk on his most recent outing.
Among his rivals on All-Weather Championships Finals Day is Tom Dascombe’s Kachy, who has broken two track records since having a breathing operation at the end of last season.
Marnane said: “He won nicely at Dundalk last time and is very smart around a bend on the all-weather.
“Lingfield has been the plan since Dundalk, and I think the track could suit him well. Kachy will be hard to beat, but you can’t be afraid of one horse.
“Alfredo Arcano ran well in Dubai earlier this year, when he was beaten a couple of short heads on the opening night. But he got a stone bruise two weeks after that, and we were on the back foot over there after that.
“He is a big, powerful horse. He is smart out of the gates, he travels and he stays well now. He seems to relax a bit better these days.”
Kachy’s owner, David Lowe, said: “Kachy has been in great form throughout the winter and he has won both of his races impressively. He won both races in more impressive manner than he did with his wins leading up to last year’s All-Weather Finals Day.
“I just think, particularly this year, he is much more relaxed. We feel like he has grown up a lot more this season. Last year, he could get a little fractious in his races, but this year he has been much more laid-back.
“He probably had his worst start ever in last year’s All-Weather Sprint, when he veered to the right from the stalls and was caught out wide from then on. If he had enjoyed a better start from the stall, he would’ve won.
“In the end, we set the race up for City Light. He deserved to win, and we’re taking nothing away from him — but nothing went right for us last year.”
Encore D’Or, Encrypted and Henri-Alex Pantall’s Forza Capitano are others in opposition to Kachy and Alfredo Arcano.
Hugo Palmer has booked Ryan Moore for second-favourite Encrypted.
“He will have to be at the top of his game to beat Kachy, but it is worth having a go and hopefully he could develop into a Wokingham horse in time,” said Palmer.
Wissahickon heads a field of eight in the Betway Easter Classic.
John Gosden’s four-year-old has been a prolific winner in his short career to date — only losing two of his 10 races.
His victories include the Cambridgeshire and the Winter Derby and he will be a short price to add to his tally.
Gosdensaid: “Wissahickon is fine. The plan had been to go to Dubai (Sheema Classic), but I wasn’t quite happy with his blood at the time. We switched back to this and it is a nice race.
“He is by Tapit and enjoys the surface. We thought going on the all-weather was a nice place to build him up after the Cambridgeshire and we’ve won the two Listed races and the Winter Derby. There was a nice programme for him there, so we thought we may as well make use of it
“He is clear on ratings, but things have got work out for him. He has got a bit of wide draw (stall eight of eight), which never helps at Lingfield, as you hit the bend so quickly.
“I would have thought we will give him a break afterwards and freshen him up until June.”
Gosden also saddles Court House, who was placed behind Wissahickon in the Winter Derby Trial and the Winter Derby itself.
Last year’s one-two Victory Bond and Master The World, Mark Johnston’s Matterhorn and French challenger Roc Angel are others in contention.
Richard Hannon’s Oh This Is Us is one of 11 runners in the Sun Racing All-Weather Mile, while Ben Haslam picked the Ladbrokes All-Weather Fillies’ And Mares’ race for Castle Hill Cassie.
Christophe Soumillon’s mount Amade will take on 10 rivals in the Betway Marathon and Richard Fahey’s Charming Kid faces 11 in the 3 Year Old Championship.
