The days have become shorter, the mercury struggles to rise into double figures on the air temperature gauge, but this would be the meeting point of the toughest souls in horse racing; the return of the All-Weather Championships. Now into its fourteenth season, there will be plenty of valuable contests and informative novice races between now and the culmination of the season at Newcastle's extravagent closing meeting at the end of March. Gosforth Park, just north of Newcastle, would open its doors for this eight race flat meeting which was headlined by a good quality opening contest with competitive handicaps following suit. The hard work begins here under the lights as the road to the Finals opens here. 

Race One: The Midnite: It's Actually Pretty Good Handicap - Class Two - One Mile, Two Furlongs - Runners:

The card would start strongly with the most valuable race taking place, taking advantage of the setting sun as the longest race of the day over ten furlongs. Open to three year olds and older, this £25,000 contest produced a clash of ages and ability as the some seasons come to a close which other's seasons begin in earnest.

Carrying top weight in this opener would be the Iain Jardine-trained Paddy The Squire, who had enjoyed a good season around this level without winning. This would be the six year old's first start on the all-weather since his debut, but he went close on a number of occasions this year; most notably when second at Newbury in September. The locally based stable of Jessica Bedi had welcomed the once very smart Deira Mile to her yard at the start of the season and it remained early days for the five year old. The gelding ran in Group races in the spring, but ran much better in the valuable November Handicap at Doncaster recently. John and Thady Gosden have a good record at this venue and would look to bring Water To Wine back to his best. The gelding looked very exciting at the start of the season with two wins, but his last two efforts were spoiled by his keen going tendencies. The formerly French based Ozat had largely struggled to make an impression in Britain this year for Ian Williams, but there was brief glimpses of promise during the summer. The five year old would step back up to ten furlongs here on a surface he had gone well on in the past. A second runner for the John and Thady Gosden stable would be Port Of London, who carried the silks of Godolphin. The lightly raced four year old had a good record on the all-weather leading into this contest and ran well on turf in recent months so had more to offer back on this surface. Another big spending operation with a runner in this contest would be Amo Racing, who were represented by Kevin de Foy's Tycoon. The four year old was another contestant who had run well throughout the season without winning, but had raced over longer distances on the whole. His best effort came at Newmarket in May when a close up third in a valuable handicap over nine furlongs. The second of the three year olds here would be Sean Woods's Savvy Disko, who was lucky to escape harm after a nasty fall at Goodwood two starts ago. Prior to that, the gelding looked progressive with a pair of wins and wasn't disgraced on his latest run at Yarmouth in September. Tim Easterby is a regular visitor to Newcastle at this time of the year and saddled the three year old Stoneacre Donny here. The gelding showed useful form at York during the spring and summer before winning easily there in September. He looked to handle this course well last time out when denied narrowly a few weeks ago. Jim Goldie's Pearl Eye had proven himself to be a shrewd purchase as he arrived here in excellent form. The six year old produced a new career best to win over a longer trip at Ayr in September before running well when second and fifth at York and Doncaster respectively on testing ground. A fascinating recruit for the smaller scale yard of Gary Hanmer would be the smartly bred gelding Eddaari. The three year old won here earlier in the season, but disappointed on his next start and recently moved stables in the October sales. It would be interesting to see how he fared in this company. At the foot of the weights would be another unexposed three year old, Andrew Balding's gelding Merci Monsieur. The son of Sea The Moon showed promise in two maidens at the summer of 2025 but overcame a long absence to win nicely down the road at Redcar and looked open to progress here now in handicaps. 

Winner: 

Race Two: The AWC Finals Day At Newcastle 26th March Novice Stakes - Class Four - Seven Furlongs - Runners:
The sun had now disappeared beyond the horizon ahead of race two and the floodlights that donned the mile long straight began to flicker into life. This would be the first of two interesting novice races at a venue which has the habit of unearthing a potential star or two for the future. This particular even took place over seven furlongs and would be open to three year olds and older who may have struggled to deliver on earlier promise or even be late-developing types. They would converge on the straight course as the notebook was open and ready to take stock.
The card was headed by the previous race winners in the line-up, the three year old Noozhaa. Roger Varian's filly comes from a very smart family and made her debut as recently as September. She built on the promise of a debut second to pull clear to win here over a mile, so needed to prove herself back down in distance. Next up would be a classy runner making her debut for the Harry Eustace-trained filly Silk Braid. She made an impressive winning debut in Ireland last year and improved with a second in a listed race back in April which looked standout form in this company, but she hadn't been seen in action since. The sole four year old in the field would come from the Archie Watson stable with Ezenli. The four year old is bred to be high class, but started out in bumpers over two miles. The gelding was tailed off on both starts and now tried his hand in this discipline for the first time. Mick Appleby's stable had been in excellent form of late and would rely on Big Money in this contest. The gelding had raced exclusively at Southwell over the last two autumns and showed race winning potential by taking second twice in October; the latest over six furlongs. Next up would be Simon West's gelding Casement Park. The three year old comes from a decent family but was sent off at big prices in both starts this season, finishing a long way behind the winner in the process. Life could be easier for him in lower grade handicaps after this contest. William Haggas would be another leading Newmarket stable with a runner here as he introduced the newcomer El Ra'ady. The son of Night of Thunder comes from a high class family and represented the leading Shadwell operation, but was gelded ahead of this debut which posed a question mark over his earlier temperament. Also making his debut in this contest would be the gelded Elsy D from the Chris Grant stable. The three year old had some smart relatives in his family over a range of distances, but faced an uphill task in a race of this nature. Returning to novice company would be the Charlie Pike-trained Lean d'Aislingean. The Ghaiyyath colt was improving race by race earlier in the season, but his progress halted in a pair of competitive handicaps at Goodwood and York subsequently. Another locally based runner in the line up would be Grant Tuer's Medran. The gelding is another runner in this lineup who struggled in novice company previously, including when fifth over ten furlongs here a month ago. Making the short journey from Easingwold to Newcastle would be the Ivan Furtado-trained Mohave Desert, who also made his debut here. The son of Frankel made appeal on paper as a half brother to a recent listed race winner, but his trainer isn't usually associated with debut winners. A North-East runner would come in the form of Tracey Waggott's gelding Nip About. The three year old showed a chunk of improvement last time out when taking second over course and distance three weeks ago in what looked a decent contest. Anthony Brittain is another trainer who targets Newcastle winners and saddled the twice-raced Savernake. The gelding had already gotten used to Newcastle as he lined up in two similar contests, finishing out of the frame on both occasions. A second runner from the Tracey Waggott stable came in the form of debutant Wind The Bobbin Up. The son of Sergei Prokofiev is related to some speedy types, so it would be interesting to see how he fared over this longer trip on debut. A second runner for the Ivan Furtado stable would also make his debut. The gelding Win Or Lose would have plenty of support from his numerous owners and is related to a multiple winning sprinter, which bode well for his future. William Haggas would also be a trainer with numerous runners here as his second runner would be Acclamique. The three year old filly seemingly had issues prior to a belated debut last month and she didn't show much on debut at Southwell when only sixth. Ed Walker would call upon his filly Ardangel in this contest and the three year old ran with credit at Southwell last month. The daughter of Ardad raced keenly and showed up for a long way before weakening into third, so could improve on that effort. It is all change at the Chalkston stables as much respected trainer Brian Ellison took over the keys to the operation. The combination would be represented here by Janoura, who ran well here when third in September, but then produced a quieter effort on handicap debut last time out at Southwell. Another Malton-based runner would come from the Julie Camacho yard with Momotombo. She comes from a family of numerous winners and showed minor promise herself with a pair of fifth placed finishes at Southwell, despite a couple of slow starts. Legendary Irish trainer Jessie Harrington would send over a very rare runner at Newcastle with Ridersinthesky in this contest. The Pinatubo filly provided leading form with a Group Three third place last season, but this was her first race since April, so to come here was an intriguing plot. Completing the field would be the Andrew Balding-trained filly Veronique. She would also be reappearing here after a lengthy break as she raced too keenly to do herself justice at Chester back in July when last of seven. She is clearly better than that however.

Winner:

Race Three: The AW Trials Day - Lingfield January 2nd 2027 Nursery Handicap - Class Six - 2-y-o Only - Six Furlongs - Runners:
The novice action would take a brief pause as this nursery handicap for juveniles took place over the sprint  distance of six furlongs. Races of this nature towards the end of the year regularly the tough and hardy two year olds who have held their form throughout the season taking on lesser exposed horses who emerged from novice company not long ago. This class six contest may lack quality, but it would make up for it in competitiveness. 
Carrying top weight here would be Espresso Breeze, for the recently formed partnership of Bryan and Beth Smart. The colt is bred to be better than this level and made his handicap debut on this fourth run of his career. He showed minor promise in previous starts, including a fifth here two starts ago. Brian Ellison would saddle the filly Mollisha, whose career had gone backwards after a promising debut third here in July. Since then, the daughter of Sands Of Mali had struggled to get involved, including in handicaps recently. Another Yorkshire based runner would come in the form of Richard and Peter Fahey's Kumharas. The filly is another who is bred to perform at a higher level, but finished in the minor placings in three quick outings on turf, all on softer ground. The Newmarket-based yard of Dylan Cunha have been making an impression on the flat and over jumps recently and would be represented here by Crystal Kraken. She had put together some promsing efforts on turf with four placings, but since then she had looked reluctant to race on her latest outings, so all eyes would be her at the start. A second runner for the Nick Bradley Racing outfit would be Tim Easterby's filly Halcon. She is another to have shown promise on her debut when third at Ripon during the summer, but she would finish closer to the rear than the front in her subsquent races and had plenty to prove now. Ursa Major Racing would be another syndicate with plenty of owners in attendance here as their silks were carried by Julie Camacho's Angelic Melody. The daughter of Harry Angel finished no better than midfield in three starts on turf, but produced her best result at Southwell recently when keeping on into fourth which offered hope on this surface. Next up would be River Jordan from the Phillip Makin stable. The gelding hadn't shown much on track to date, but offered something to work on when sixth in a similar contest here in September. Another runner to make her debut on the all-weather would be Declan Carroll's filly Ma Fille De Reve. She would show natural improvement between novice contests and handicaps to take second at Thirsk in September, but was unable to back up that effort when disappointing at Leicester last time out. The handicap debut Turbo Shandy would line up here for the Ivan Furtado stable. The filly had made her initial starts in selling company without showing much and it was a similar story last time out in novice company at Ripon. Ben Haslam recently showcased his skills with a big winner at Cheltenham over the previous weekend, but returned to this modest level with two runners, the first of them being Sankhum Galaxy. The colt's record doesn't make for much reading, but there small positive was his best run which came at this venue when a close up third over a furlong longer, but was unable to repeat that effort next time. The popular stable of Mick and David Easterby would also be represented here with the gradually progressive North Coates. The gelding produced his best effort when second in September when last seen, but there was cause for optimism ahead of his all-weather debut as his dam won a handful of races on this surface. A second runner for the Ben Haslam runner would be Yorkshire Dream. The gelding had been tried over a variety of distances throughout his short career so far, but his best effort came over course and distance when third in September so connections were hoping for a repeat of that effort. Completing the field would be Phil Kirby's Hey Dougie, who had duck eggs as form figures. The juvenile colt found himself on a lowly rating after a trio of quiet efforts in novice company on turf, but now turned his attention to handicaps in search of a change of fortune.

Winner:

Race Four: The All-Weather Championship Is Back EBF Novice Stakes - Class Three - 2-y-o only - Seven Furlongs - Runners:

The second novice contest of the evening would take place next and it promised to provide plenty of clues for the months ahead. This class three, seven furlong contest for juveniles is often well supported by leading trainers, so their runners would need close scrutiny with Classics or other big races on the agenda next year.
The racecard was topped by the returning Crown Of Ivy, who was the sole previous winner in the line up. The son of Naval Crown made a pleasing debut by winning at Doncaster back in May and had recently joined the Terry Kent stable for his return to action. The colt had to give weight away to his rivals, who were led by Phillip Makin's Binsky Boy. The gelding had seemingly been a work in progress, considering his low key efforts on debut here and again at Redcar a month ago. 

Race Five: The AWC Is Back Handicap - Class Four - Seven Furlongs - Runners:

Race Six: The Midnite Ain't Your Grandad's Bookie Handicap - Class Four - Six Furlongs - Runners:

Race Seven: The AWC Season 14 Has Begun Handicap - Class Six - Seven Furlongs - Runners: