Betfair Sprint Cup Stakes (Group 1)
EASILY the highlight of a rather fractured British programme last week was the Haydock Sprint Cup. To say it’s one of the least glamorous Group 1 events of the calendar is something of an understatement, with the possibility of the race not having a sponsor looking a real possibility until Betfair stepped in at just over half past the 11th hour.
The race itself, as if suddenly aware of its reduced circumstances, lost its star names after declaration, with first Advertise and then his July Cup conqueror and chief rival Ten Sovereigns crying off.
The evergreen The Tin Man (named after the Wizard of Oz character if you believe the track’s Twitter feed) did at least rock up to defend his crown. Under a swashbuckling ride from Oisin Murphy, James Fanshawe’s seven-year-old threw everything into his challenge, but could not overhaul Commonwealth Cup third Hello Youmzain (Kevin Ryan/James Doyle) who made almost every yard to prove that his defeat of Calyx in the Sand Lane Stakes over track and trip earlier in the year hadn’t been the fluke many took it as at the time.
Indeed, his splitting of Advertise and Ten Sovereigns at Ascot is form which is also much more solid than many would admit at the time, and he would have finished a clear second but for missing the break there.
Into stride
There was no chance of things going awry on Saturday, with Doyle ensuring Hello Youmzain was sharply into stride, and although Invincible Army tried to match strides for much of the way, the winner was always tanking along.
The only fright was when The Tin Man threw down his challenge at the distance, but while that one battled on tenaciously, it was soon clear that his younger rival was always finding enough to comfortably repel the challenge.
Brando briefly moved into third before Waldpfad (Dominik Moser/Andrea Atzeni) nabbed that spot in the last couple of strides with a strong finishing burst. The distances in the end were half a length and two lengths.
Invincible Army was better than the bare result in fifth, with Fairyland running creditably another neck away, but unable to land a telling blow.
Afterwards, winning trainer Kevin Ryan confirmed his colt on course for the British Champions Sprint in October, where a rematch with Saturday’s absentees is on the cards, adding:
“We decided after Ascot that we’d be patient with him as it’s not all about this year. These horses don’t come around very often and although we gave him a tentative entry in the Nunthorpe, this race was always the plan. He’s such a young horse and a big horse as well. You shouldn’t wish your life away, but he’s going to mature and he’ll be a stronger horse next year. He’s very exciting.”
THE Haydock undercard was headed up by the Group 3 Superior Mile, again sponsored by Betfair, and it produced a clear-cut winner in the shape of Tom Dascombe’s Great Scot, who was providing stable jockey Richard Kingscote his umpteenth track winner, and both jockey and horse seem ideally suited by the Merseyside venue.
Great Scot and Richard Kingscote won well on the soft ground at Haydock \ Healy Racing
Runner-up in the Greenham Stakes at Newbury on his return, the gelded son of Requinto was winning for the third time in as many starts at Haydock, and scored by a three-and-three-quarter-length margin over Mark Johnston’s tough and consistent Matterhorn (Franny Norton) with International Handicap winner Raising Sand (Jamie Osborne/Nicola Currie) third.
Kempton Saturday
ROYAL Line (Rab Havlin) gave John Gosden back-to-back wins in the Sun Racing September Stakes at Kempton on Saturday, after Enable’s victory last year.
The five-year-old entire was making his all-weather debut, and proved a length and a quarter too strong for all-weather specialist Mootasadir (Hugo Palmer/Ben Curtis), with Prince Of Arran (Charlie Fellowes/Stevie Donohoe) holding off Sun Maiden for third in a strong field for this Group 3 prize.
The winner has a superb pedigree, being by Dubawi out of Melikah, who was placed in both the Oaks and Irish Oaks, and is herself a daughter of the outstanding Urban Sea.
Soft ground
Connections may be tempted to step the winner up in class for the British Champions Long Distance Cup at Ascot next month, but the winning jockey was in no hurry to see his mount over further, saying of last season’s November Handicap winner: “He is entered in a few things at the back end as he is a different horse on soft ground.
“I think a mile and a half on soft ground is what he wants, as when it is soft ground they have to stay very strongly.”
The runner-up is entered in the Group 3 Matthews Coaches Diamond Stakes at Dundalk in a couple of weeks (September 27th), whereas Prince Of Arran went into quarantine on Thursday in preparation for another trip to Melbourne’s Spring Carnival, where he won the Group 3 Lexus Stakes last year, and finished third in the Melbourne Cup.
IT’S been a long time since Kempton’s Sirenia Stakes has made ripples in the classic pool, although it was won by the great Grundy in 1974, so it’s unlikely that this year’s renewal will affect the pecking order of the top juveniles.
That said, it provided Clive Cox with his second juvenile Group 3 winner in a week, as Streamline, a son of Due Diligence, scored under Hector Crouch to add to Positive’s Solario Stakes win the previous weekend.
The colt has now won both starts at Kempton, and while he appreciated the step up to six furlongs for the first time, he’s unlikely to stay much further on pedigree.
Oh Purple Reign (Richard Hannon/Sean Levey) ran well to be beaten a length in second, but although he’s very reliable, he’s now had nine runs, and is looking exposed.
Third-placed Huraiz (Mark Johnston/Joe Fanning) was suffering his first defeat in three starts, and looks very speedy. He is perhaps the type to thrive if faced with an even sharper test, for all he has entries in both the Middle Park and Dewhurst.