Soul Silver takes gold in Good Friday qualifier

Soul Silver booked her place on All-Weather Championships Finals Day when winning a Fast-Track Qualifier at Chelmsford on Friday.

Soul Silver (pictured) lined up as the second favourite for the five-runner totetrifecta Pick The 1,2,3 Fillies' Conditions Stakes and she beat the favourite Carolinae by two lengths, with stablemate Veena back in third. In fourth was Pattie who had beaten Soul Silver the time before but couldn't maintain the form on worse weight terms.

The race was marred by Courier pulling up early, sustaining an injury that sadly proved fatal. This left Soul Silver in front and her rider, Oisin Murphy, dictated the pace to perfection, always doing enough to repel the challenge of Carolinae in the home straight and probably going away again at the finish.

Soul Silver's win guarantees her a place in the final field for the £150,000 32Red Fillies' And Mares' All-Weather Championships at Lingfield Park on Finals Day, Good Friday, March 30.

Winning trainer David Simcock said: "We tried to make all at Lingfield last time and she got taken on for the lead, but leading does suit her.

"Round here they take a bit of catching and she did it well. She will definitely go for the Fillies' And Mares' race on All-Weather Finals Day as there aren't that many races around for her.

"There won't be many horses in that race which will be rated higher than 90. It's a weaker category, but she should definitely be competitive on Good Friday and it's a big prize.

Oisin Murphy added: "It was very good placing by David Simcock to run Soul Silver here today.

"She is suited by a small field and has run well at Chelmsford City before, so full marks to David."

The Chelmsford race was over a mile and Soul Silver will be dropping back to seven furlongs in the Fillies' And Mares', but her prominent style of racing gives her every chance of being just as effective over the shorter trip. She's a very honest and tough filly who deserves to win a good prize.