There are runners with stronger claims on the basis of recent form but Tiggy Wiggy (3.45) looks a huge price at 25-1 for Haydock’s Sprint Cup, the main event in racing’s busy world this Saturday. Richard Hannon’s flying filly gets weight from all her rivals and this looks her best chance so far this year to show something like her best form.
Two of her three starts in 2015 have gone badly wrong, most recently when she was never sighted in the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot. But the ground was very quick that week and it seemed not to suit her, whereas a nice bit of cut at Haydock should be ideal.
She was fighting with her jockey even before they reached the stalls on her reappearance and of course there is a risk of a similar problem here, with Sean Levey back aboard for the first time in more than a year. But if Levey can keep her sweet until the stalls clang open, we may see something close to the ability she showed when winning last year’s Super Sprint, Lowther and Cheveley Park.
Perhaps her bravest effort was when she placed third in this year’s 1,000 Guineas, a race two furlongs too far for her, in which she was toiling through the final furlong but somehow held onto her place. Running like that behind Legatissimo and Lucida counts as excellent form in difficult circumstances and shows that she retains her ability from last year.
This is a highly competitive event with some serious talents ranged against her, including Adaay, Waady and Twilight Son. But punters struggling to choose among those could do a lot worse than an each-way play on Tiggy Wiggy, who has major potential to surprise. “She’s put on a bit of weight, she’s working well and she’ll like the ground,” Hannon told me on Friday night.
Saturday’s best bets, by Chris Cook
1.45 Kempton Arab Dawn has the potential to make this interesting, especially as Jack Hobbs will not be at peak fitness after two months off but the Irish Derby winner is undeniably the standout talent here and he should have plenty more improvement in him.
2.00 Haydock Captain Cat was a storming winner of this race last year but hasn’t seemed anything like the same horse this summer. Balty Boys, who chased him home that day and has held his form well, gets a good opportunity.
2.20 Kempton An extraordinarily competitive affair, with masses of course form on offer, may fall to Spirit Raiser, who has been on a steady upward slope throughout her career. She had more in hand than the neck winning margin when beating Early Morning here in June and meets him on marginally better terms. The first-time visor seemed to help her last time and she could provide Hayley Turner with a notable success in a significant week for the jockey.
2.35 Haydock Few winners of the Old Borough Cup can have come via Killarney but that is the route followed by High Secret, cleverly placed by Sir Mark Prescott to get a drop of Irish prize money last month. Before that, the four-year-old had been beaten only by Seamour in a tough race at Ascot, form that looks strong in this company. This is a step back in trip but some cut underfoot should help High Secret to get to the front where it matters.
2.50 Ascot There was renewed promise from Field Of Dream when he ran on to be fourth last time and it is interesting to see he has dropped to a mark 2lb below the one from which he won the Royal Hunt Cup here last summer. He has a fine record in big-field, straight-course handicaps, having also won the Bunbury Cup as well as a £60,000 race over this course and distance in 2012. With cheekpieces fitted for the first time and the in-form Willy Twiston-Davies aboard, Field Of Dream is worth a second look.
3.10 Haydock Perhaps an unlucky runner-up at Glorious Goodwood, where he was bumped at the start, Maljaa improved for first-time blinkers to score at Doncaster last time. He looks a progressive youngster with more to offer.
3.25 Ascot Dartmouth has been raised almost a stone for his controversial Goodwood success, when he shunted several rivals aside on his way through, and there must be at least a possibility that something else here is better handicapped. Perhaps that could be Duretto, a lightly-raced gelding from Andrew Balding’s yard who stayed on well to score on soft ground here in July.
Post your tips or racing-related comments below.
