Haydock

Bouncing back from a forgettable effort in the July Cup, Shadwell's Almeraq (Dark Angel) turned Haydock's G1 Betfair Sprint Cup into a procession with soft ground to suit on Saturday. Always travelling with supreme ease as Tom Marquand had the anchor down throughout the early stages, the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes hero cut through the pack with minimal urging and brushed aside Paborus (Recoletos) approaching the furlong pole. From there, it was only a case of how far as the 9-4 favourite opened up and at the death it...

There was a significant buzz about the William Haggas newcomer Sharadd (Dark Angel) at Haydock on Thursday and Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum's colt showed why to become a TDN Rising Star, Presented by Hagyard. Tackling the six-furlong novice on the card which has been won in recent times by the Mill Reef winner Sakheer and this stable's classy Division and Elmonjed, the €175,000 Goffs Orby Book 1 graduate was allowed to take his time behind the leading group by Tom Marquand and saunter into contention approaching the final furlong. Soon...

Taking another step up the ladder on Saturday, Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum's Sallaal (Frankel) made light work of his sternest test in Haydock's G3 Rose Of Lancaster Stakes. Sent off the 1-2 favourite for this 10-furlong feature coming off an easy Epsom handicap success on Oaks day and a follow-up in Sandown's Gala Stakes, the Roger Varian-trained half-brother to Benbatl and Elmalka tracked the pace and when the button was pushed responded to take command 1 1/2 furlongs out. Asserting in the run to the line, the homebred had 1...

It is the weekend of Ascot's Shergar Cup, where Saffie Osborne and Ryan Moore will be joined by the international galacticos Yutaka Take, Vincent Ho and Christophe Lemaire in what amounts to racing's mid-summer fun and games, and overall Saturday is light in terms of gravity. Haydock is back in action after the famous hole in the track saga and its G3 Rose Of Lancaster Stakes is the centrepiece. As a 10-furlong stepping stone to big autumn targets, it is held in affection by the purists who remember the likes...

The Jockey Club has announced that Haydock Park plans to resume racing on Friday, August 7 following the cancellation of fixtures after a hole appeared in the Flat outer track during a raceday in May. To support the return to racing in August, the fixtures scheduled to take place on Friday, July 17 and Saturday, July 18 have been cancelled, allowing time for the necessary repair works to the outer course to be completed. The fixture scheduled for Saturday, July 18 will now take place at Nottingham Racecourse on the...

Haydock Park has announced that the raceday scheduled for Saturday 20th June and the Old Newton Cup Meeting, due to take place from 2nd to 4th July, have been cancelled while investigations continue into the cause of the hole that occurred during racing last month. The race programme scheduled for Saturday 20th June will now take place at Nottingham Racecourse. The Tom Grennan concert originally scheduled to take place after racing will go ahead at Haydock Park as planned. All ticket purchasers and hospitality guests will be contacted directly with...

Significantly delayed by the discovery of a drainage hole in the home straight, Haydock's G2 Sandy Lane Stakes eventually played out with a compensatory dazzling performance from the high-class Venetian Sun (Starman). Reverting to six furlongs after failed efforts over further in the Moyglare and the 1,000 Guineas, Tony Bloom and Ian McAleavy's Prix Morny heroine went through this contest as if operating on a different level and only needed encouraging late on to dismiss Division (Kingman) by three lengths. Spicy Marg (Starspangledbanner) was another 1 1/2 lengths away in...

Three races during Haydock's William Hill Temple Stakes card have been called off after a hole was discovered on the round course during the first race. Racing has been switched to the inner course after John and Thady Gosden trainee Friendly Soul (Kingman) took a false step in Saturday's opener, the Listed William Hill Epic Boost British EBF Hedge Of Oak Stakes. The 2-1 favourite was pulled up after the incident. Haydock's clerk of the course Dan Cooper told ITV Racing, "In the first race Friendly Soul took a misstep...

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-bred horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Saturday's Observations features 3.7 million gns debuter Act Of Kindness. 4.45 Newmarket, Mdn, 2yo, f, 7fT ACT OF KINDNESS (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}), the third-highest-priced yearling sold at last year's Tattersalls October Book 1 bonanza at 3.7million gns, had been taken out of her intended debut at Sandown last month...

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-bred horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Friday's Observations features a high-priced sale graduate in the Amo colours. 4.00 Haydock, Novice, 2yo, 6f 212yT POKER (IRE) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) debuts nearly a year after making headlines at Tattersalls October Book 1 when selling for 4.3million gns, a record price for a colt offered at the sale....

Everybody had a fair crack at Saturday's Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock and it was the 16-1 shot Big Mojo (Mohaather) who proved the quickest and toughest to register another Group 1 success for some very lucky owners. Following the example of Paul and Rachael Teasdale's Breeders' Cup-winning fairytale story Big Evs, the Mick Appleby-trained three-year-old forged his own day in the limelight as he grafted on the front end for William Buick throughout en route to a 1 1/4-length success. Last year's runner-up Kind Of Blue (Blue Point) was...

Following an impressive debut win at Newbury last month, TDN Rising Star Bow Echo (Night Of Thunder) denied chief rival Publish (Kingman) to double his tally in Saturday's Listed Ascendant Stakes at Haydock. Shrugging off that Juddmonte rival inside the final furlong, Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum's George Boughey-trained 5-6 favourite readily asserted under Billy Loughnane for a length success. Boughey thinks there is a lot more to come. "He's a lovely horse who has shown plenty of ability at home, but he's possibly still quite raw," he said. "He...