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Sloane Avenue bids to maintain his unbeaten record on Polytrack in the Cash Out On The Betdaq+ App/EBF Stallions Hyde Stakes at Kempton Park on Wednesday.
The mile contest is a Fast-Track Qualifier for the £150,000 Ladbrokes All-Weather Mile at Lingfield Park on All-Weather Championships Finals Day, Good Friday, April 3.
Trained by Jeremy Noseda in Newmarket, Sloane Avenue made a winning debut when storming to a nine-length success in a mile Polytrack maiden at Lingfield Park on February 8.
The three-year-old son of Candy Ride was last of five when switched to turf for the 10-furlong Listed Fairway Stakes at Newmarket in May but bounced back with a decisive victory in a mile handicap on Polytrack at Kempton Park on August 27, getting the better of subsequent winner Billingsgate by three quarters of a length.
Sloane Avenue was last seen out when eighth of nine back on turf in the nine-furlong Grade Three Hill Prince Stakes at Belmont Park, USA, on October 4.
Noseda reported: "Sloane Avenue is in good form. It's a competitive race but we will find out how he matches up.
"They had a lot of rain at Belmont and the ground went against him. If we were in England he would not have run, but we had gone a long way so we took our chance.
"Captain Cat is rated 17lb higher than us, so I can't be confident, but we will see how we go."
Frankie Dettori, who partnered the Susan Roy-owned Sloane Avenue to victory on debut, rides colt for the first time since on Wednesday.
Sloane Avenue's 11 rivals are headed by Ladbrokes All-Weather Mile hero Captain Cat (Roger Charlton/James Doyle), who has annexed two Group Three contests on the turf this summer and was last seen out when fifth in the Group One Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on Champions Day, October 18, at Ascot.
William Haggas is represented Graphic (Seb Sanders), who captured the Group Three Prix Messidor in July, and decisive Lingfield Park scorer Prince's Trust (Shane Kelly), owned by Her Majesty, The Queen.
Fellow Newmarket handler John Ryan has two classy contenders in Ocean Tempest (Jack Mitchell)and Tenor (Adam Kirby), both Listed scorers this season, while Roger Varian is set to saddle Eton Forever (Graham Lee).
International interest comes in the shape of French challenger Cladocera (Alain de Royer-Dupre/Antoine Hamelin), who recorded an impressive Listed success at Longchamp in June but has disappointed on her last two outings.
The field is completed by the Richard Hannon-trained pair of Baltic Knight (Jimmy Fortune) and Emell (Sean Levey), plus veteran multiple Group Two scorer Premio Loco (Chris Wall/George Baker) and Stereo Love (Clive Cox/Luke Morris).
Horses qualify for the seven championship contests on the £1.1-million All-Weather Championships Finals Day (Good Friday, April 3, 2015) by winning a specified "Fast Track Qualifier" or running in a minimum of three races at Britain's five All-Weather tracks, Lingfield Park, Southwell and Wolverhampton, owned by ARC, The Jockey Club's Kempton Park and Chelmsford City, between October 30 and March 30. Alternatively, one of the three qualifying runs can come at Dubai's Meydan Racecourse (dirt) or on the All-Weather surfaces at Ireland's Dundalk and the French tracks of Cagnes Sur Mer, Chantilly and Deauville.
