Lazzat leads maximum field hunting Sprint Cup honours

Lazzat leads the way as a maximum field of 17 look set to assemble for the Betfair Sprint Cup Stakes at Haydock on Saturday.

Jerome Reynier’s gelding made a successful trip across the Channel in June to land the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot, after which he was second in the Prix Maurice de Gheest back on home turf.

He now heads back to British shores again for owners Wathnan Racing, and will be ridden by their retained jockey James Doyle at Haydock as he bids to add another Group One to his CV.

The same owners are also due to be represented by Kind Of Blue, trained by James Fanshawe who finished second in the contest last year, with Flora Of Bermuda the third Wathnan runner for trainer Andrew Balding.

Time For Sandals, Harry Eustace’s Commonwealth Cup winner, is declared alongside Richard Hughes’ July Cup heroine No Half Measures and her stablemate Sayidah Dariyan.

Big Mojo was second in the July Cup and turns his attention now to Haydock, with Annaf also set to line up from the same Mick Appleby yard.

Last season’s winning trainer William Haggas will be represented solely by Sky Majesty as Almeraq has not made the cut having been declared, whereas Kevin Ryan has two runners in Inisherin and Ain’t Nobody, who was second in the Nunthorpe at 100-1.

Clive Cox is another trainer with two runners as he has put forward Diligent Harry and James’s Delight, with Henry Candy’s Run To Freedom and Eve Johnson Houghton’s Rage Of Bamby both on the list also.

There are two further horses travelling from overseas, a second French raider in Yann Barberot’s Beauvatier and an Irish challenger in Ger Lyons’ My Mate Alfie.

The last two to make it in where Nighteyes and Celandine.