Betfair Sprint Cup: five for any shortlist
Tom Thurgood picks five names to monitor from the initial 23 confirmations for Saturday's £350,000 highlight from Haydock Park. Enjoy the Betfair Sprint Cup live this Saturday on Racing TV!
SHAQUILLE
Trainer: Julie Camacho Odds: Evs
A fairly unimaginative place to start admittedly, but you can’t not mention him in what has proved the story of this Flat season.
He will be a warm order to land a third successive Group One triumph – indeed, he’s unbeaten at the top level – and he holds stand-out form claims with the promise of more to offer as a three-year-old with only nine lifetime starts.
He has proven an habitual slow-starter, but assistant trainer Steve Brown has reported Julie Camacho’s stable star in good order and going well in starting stalls practice ahead of this big assignment and, to indulge a well-worn cliché, he must be there or thereabouts in a race that lacks stand-out rivals for him.
One slight niggle at his short price is that there doesn’t look an abundance of pace on and no dyed-in-the-wool front-runners in this line-up. You can’t imagine them going a dawdle but a decent test at the trip would be preferable for Shaquille here. The yard has endured something of a quiet spell in recent weeks, too.
Yet with both Kinross and Art Power both unlikely runners at this point Shaquille is likely to be at least 3lb clear in the ratings from this field and he gets weight from most of them as one of the three-year-old contenders in the line-up.
REGIONAL
Trainer: Ed Bethell Odds: 16-1
This progressive five-year-old ran with real credit on his Group One debut in the Nunthorpe Stakes last time and really promises to be suited by stepping back up to six furlongs.
He broke well and wasn’t far off all-the-way winner Live In The Dream in the early stages before struggling to hold his position, yet he rallied in good style and only Khaadem (the King’s Stand winner likely to reoppose here) was quicker in the final furlong on the Knavesmire.
Regional has been well-placed by Ed Bethell and his runs have been fairly spaced out so far, so this fairly quick turnaround of just over a fortnight is a question to answer – as is the fact that he hasn’t been genuinely targeted at this race in the way his rivals mostly would have been. But he will definitely have the ground to suit with a warm and dry week forecast and he represents an age group that has fared well in this race (9.4%, +£8.25, 1.16 A/E for five-year-olds since 1997).
SAINT LAWRENCE
Trainer Archie Watson Odds: 14-1
He has a really likable profile as an experienced five-year-old who has seemingly been galvanised by a recent stable switch, and this unexposed sprinter looks primed for another big run after posting career-best efforts on his last two starts.
He travelled very strongly when coming from a mile back in the Wokingham at Royal Ascot and the Prix Maurice de Gheest probably didn’t pan out ideally last time given the slow early pace and not being able to get the cover desired in a small-ish field. However, he travelled into contention even more strongly than at Ascot and he has the look of a thriving and really improving type.
Saint Lawrence is another here who would want a decent pace to aim at and a central stall would be preferable, but he’s not one to be underestimated and for a yard that hit the crossbar with Glen Shiel in this race three years ago.
In his excellent training career so far Watson has proven a dab hand with top sprinters, with the likes of Soldier’s Call, Dragon Symbol and Bradsell winning big races. Indeed, Watson boasts a 61% placer strike-rate in Group One sprints in Britain and Ireland since he started training.
RUN TO FREEDOM
Trainer: Henry Candy Odds: 20-1
This likeable five-year-old is a two-time runner-up at Group One level – on both occasions at big prices – and despite not boasting an especially impressive career strike-rate he can go well again here against some more lightly-raced rivals but runners lacking his level of form.
He wears cheekpieces and can look around a bit – he had a bit too much daylight on the July Course at Newmarket last time – but he ran on well in the July Cup after being dropped out after a tardy start and brisk early pace and he could run on to good effect once again here if settling nicely. Even allowing for an efficient ride at Newmarket that allowed him to make decent late gains, his final three furlongs were notably quicker than everything else and it’s possible he can replicate that or even build on it here on ground that will be fine.
Run To Freedom is not the most consistent, but a decent pace and a draw allowing him good early cover should see him to best effect and he has the ability to go close.
MILL STREAM
Trainer: Jane Chapple Hyam Odds: 11-1
One of two supplementary entries at a cost of £20,000, this looks something of an opportunistic strike rather than the culmination of a grand plan but this improver is in good form and can’t be dismissed.
He only just failed to reel in serial winner Quinault in a valuable handicap at the July Festival on quick ground and has posted his best efforts so far on soft ground in Frace on his last two starts, most recently when beating older rivals in Group Three company at Deauville. He brushed aside Garrus - a pretty solid yardstick - on that occasion and the Charlie Hills sprinter has a really good course record at the French track, so that performance is one that warrants respect with the additional promise of more to come.
