AISLING ROUTE TO CLOUD NINE

Ian Heitman sees Oscar leading the charge for winter's top Flat prizes

- 

The inaugural All-Weather Championships took place between October 2013 and Apri 2014 and at the end of season 12 in April 2025, eight horses had managed to win seven races a feat achieved in the last three seasons. Aisling Oscar put his name in the record books at Southwell on February 5 when he registered his eighth win of the current all-weather season and in doing so became the first horse since the mid-1990's to win eight handicaps in a row.

The first of his eight wins came at Newcastle on November 27 off a mark of 46 in a Class 6 contest. Well placed by his trainer Adrian Keatley to win a further five races in Class 6 company, Aisling Oscar has coped extremely well with the step into Class 5 races, winning firstly in a 0-70 off 65 and most recently in 0-75 company off 71. He was never far from the pace at Southwell and led inside the final furlong beating Studious by three quarters of a length. A rise of 4lb means Aisling Oscar can still run in Class 5 company and there is no reason why he won't make it nine wins in a row.

The Listed Kachy Stakes run over 6f at Lingfield on January 31 had a field of eight with Completely Random the well-supported even money favourite. He had been successful over the course and distance a fortnight earlier in a Class 3 handicap when he finished strongly in the straight comfortably winning by three and three quarter lengths with Ryan Moore riding for the first time. Two of his seven rivals were previous winners of the race, Diligent Harry in 2024 and Marshman in 2025 who were 7/1 and 100/30 respectively in the betting. Ferrous, who prior to the race had won five of his eight starts on the all-weather was between that pair in the market at 5/1.