Can Lizzie Quinlan become Cartmel's champion trainer as we say goodbye to the Cumbria track for 2024?

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Amazingly enough, one of our tracks stages its final fixture of the year today. It's Cartmel, of course, one of the most seasonal of all racecourses, where there will be no action from tomorrow until May comes round again.

In recent seasons, Jimmy Moffatt would by now have wrapped up his title as top trainer at his local track, being well clear of his rivals by number of wins. But not this time because, as we've discussed in this space, he was held up by a virus early in the year and the ball has yet to really bounce his way.

Moffatt has nine runners in six races for today's farewell card, so perhaps he'll end up on top anyway. But he'd need three winners just to match Ben Haslam's tally (six) and it doesn't really feel like he's about to have as big a day as that.

In which case, Cartmel is about to have a new champion trainer for the first time since Donald McCain won it three years ago. If it's not Moffatt, it'll be one of two people: Haslam or Lizzie Quinlan, whose Bolton Mill base (just north of Tebay services) is handy for the track.

You might remember Quinlan talking to us soon after she started having runners at the end of 2022; she's still very new. She's a daughter of Barbara Butterworth, who handed on the licence, and is married to Sean Quinlan, who did the steering when the yard had a 15-1 double at Cartmel on Saturday.

It was Quinlan's first double (she missed one by a nose last year) and took her total for Cartmel this season to five, one behind Haslam. Today, she has five runners across four races.

Four of her recent Cartmel wins have been provided by the splendid City Derby, who somewhat broke the Front Runner's heart by battling past Tommie Beau on Saturday. "I said to the owners, we should let him take his chance in the better race, having won the three before," Quinlan says. "Didn't really have any expectation of winning. Hoped he'd run well.

Lizzie Quinlan: one behind Ben Haslam in the race for Cartmel champion trainerCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

"I'm just amazed by him, he's been brilliant. He absolutely loves the track.

"We hadn't been too sure if he would stay the three miles on that [soft] ground in a better race but he was tenacious, he galloped all the way to the line."

City Derby is entered again today, when his 7lb penalty will take him to a mark of 115, a stone and a half higher than it was in late May. Quinlan will look the chestnut over this morning and give him a chance to convince her that he can run again but she reckons he is a likely non-runner after such a big effort two days ago.

That would still leave her with the five-year-old Elogio, new to her yard, in the race. "He'd have a good chance. He's improved every run for us, great effort at Uttoxeter last time. I think Brian [Hughes] thought a couple of extra furlongs would be ideal." 

She is also keen on Blended Stealth in division two of the marathon handicap hurdle. Aged seven, he's still a maiden but went close last time and has evidently come down to a fair rating. 

"He was good at Perth, slightly unlucky. He seems in great form, we seem to be getting there with him now. 

"He's a beautiful horse to look at. If he matches his looks, we'll be all right."

Haslam's involvement comes in two races towards the end of the card, in both of which he has obvious chances. Ilikedwayurthinkin tries the Cavendish Cup, having won over the course and distance on his last two starts.

"He won well the first day. He was a little bit free next time and the ground was slower, he made hard work of it. I don't think things went right for him in the race, so I'm hoping there's a bit of improvement in him."

Dr Sanderson is the likely favourite for the following race, having gone close on Saturday. "He had a hard race but at each meeting he's run twice and arguably performed better on his second start each time, so there's a strong likelihood he'll run again.

Sean Quinlan: has partnered City Derby to a four-timer

"Coqolino has shaped nicely round there a couple of times. He's a big, big horse who may just benefit from this proper soft ground. He's got ability, it's just whether this track will bring it out of him."

Haslam has finished second to Moffatt in the Cartmel trainers' standings in each of the past two years, so he's long been a fan of the track. "Over the last three or four seasons, we've noticed there's some decent prize-money there for reasonably good chasers who might struggle in the winter. 

"We've had a bit of success with those types and ended up sending more there, knowing we're going for those nice types of races. When you have a bit of luck at a track, instinct tends to take you back there. 

"It's usually slow ground, so it probably suits horses that handle that. Plus, it takes plenty of riding. You need a good jockey round there, it's a very hard track to ride."

What does Quinlan look for in a Cartmel horse? "Being able to travel. I think that's a huge key. The ones that seem to run well there are strong travellers. Sean always says they need to be able to stay as well, because they nearly always go a good gallop. 

"I love going to Cartmel. Our horses seem to enjoy it. The staff there look after everyone really well. We've got a lot of local owners that love going, take all the family and just really enjoy it."

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The Front Runner is our unmissable email newsletter available exclusively to Members' Club Ultimate subscribers. Chris Cook, the reigning Racing Writer of the Year, provides his take on the day's biggest stories and tips for the upcoming racing every morning from Monday to Friday. Not a Members' Club Ultimate subscriber? Click here to join today and also receive our Ultimate Daily emails plus our full range of fantastic website and newspaper content.