Betfred Sprint Cup
This year sees the 42nd running of the Sprint Cup at Haydock, a race with a rich and varied history whose winners include some of the outstanding racehorses of the past 4 decades.
Fog put paid to what would have been the 3rd Sprint Cup in 1968, the only year it has been lost, when the first of the race's champions 'Be Friendly' would have bid for a hat-trick. Robert Sangster had bought a share in Be Friendly from the renowned BBC TV commentator, Sir Peter O'Sullevan, after his 2 victories, the first of them as a 2-year-old. Sangster had to wait until 1985 to fulfil his ambition to see his own colours carried to victory in the race which, in its formative years, was sponsored by his family's pools firm, Vernons.
The 1985 race, won by Orojoya, was the last to be run on the round course with the bend into the home straight and was switched to a new 6-furlong straight course and moved back to early September from its traditional November slot. This earlier position in the calendar gave the Sprint Cup more of a chance of being run of truer going and the new straight course answered those who had criticised the race as being unfair.
It still took until 1988, however, for the Sprint Cup to gain its Group 1 status, its overdue promotion being assisted by a fine collection of winners including Tudor Music, the French filly Lianga, Double Form, Moorestyle and Habibti.
When it comes to nominating the best winner of the Sprint Cup, it is a hard job to choose when also adding to the list the 1990 winner, Dayjur, all magnificent racehorses who would figure in any list of the top performers to grace the turf in the last 40 years over any distance.
Both Moorestyle and Dayjur went onto the Breeders' Cup, where Royal Academy won the Mile (ridden by Lester Piggott who had come out of retirement); and Dayjur would have won the Sprint Cup had he not hurdled a shadow and lost momentum.
Somnus, Goodricke and Reverence have been the pick of the more recent Sprint Cup winners, with Somnus coming closest of any to emulating Be Friendly, by winning 2 editions of the race.
And so, 40 odd years after Be Friendly's double got the race off to such a memorable start – with his owner betraying no trace of partiality in his TV commentary – the Sprint Cup is still thriving. Long may it continue to do so!
Saturday 6th September
Betfred Sprint Cup Raceday
2:05PM
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