Kate Tracey, Sam Boswell and Declan Rix are back to find winners from Ascot and Haydock on the latest episode of Weekend Winners.

Midway through the show, the panel analysed the Group 1 Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock, ran over six furlongs at 3.35pm on Saturday.

Royal Ascot winners Lazzat and Time For Sandals are towards the head of the market, with Kind Of Blue also in situ for the James Fanshawe team. Tom Marquand is set to renew his partnership with Sky Majesty whilst July Cup winner No Half Measures goes again in the hands of Neil Callan.

Declan Rix…

“It’s such a competitive race – I can’t have Lazzat at 2/1! I don’t get it with this horse, although he is the most likely winner. The price and the way people were talking about him after he won at Royal Ascot as if he’s a superstar sprinter… he’s not! He was given a really good ride by James Doyle, you go back and look at the sectionals and see it was an honest, good building pace. With those nice building paces, it’s hard for horses to come off the pace and horses running from the front do really well.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he was taken off his feet early here. There’s a couple of horses in here who are pretty rapid. No Half Measures will go forward, Kind Of Blue won’t be too far away and Rage Of Bamby will go forward too – I think Lazzat will be off it quite early. Historically, low to middle (draw) is where you want to be here but all the pace looks to be middle to high. If you’re drawn really low here you could struggle – you want to be drawn by the stands-side rail.

“I’ve gone to James’s Delight – a 25/1 shot for Clive Cox. In the British Champion Sprint last year, James’s Delight did all his best work late. This horse wants a really strong gallop as he can take quite a hold, a flat track and some juice in the ground – which it looks like he’ll get. On all known form he’s not really good enough to win here but I can see a little bit of a pace collapse ensuing and Clifford Lee has ridden him once in his career before, winning on him. As long as the ground doesn’t get really quick there, he could go well at a big price. If he’s able to lay up, he is not a horse you want to face in a battle. He has some attitude, he puts his head down, ears back and runs to the line. It’s worth having a swing at because what have we seen all season in this division? Chaos!”

Kate Tracey

“I’m with Time For Sandals here. This was my horse to follow at the start of the season but did I have a penny on her in the Commonwealth Cup at 25/1? No! I hope she’s got another one [in her]! Goodness me, she’s so likeable isn’t she? She absolutely loved the fast ground at Ascot that day and I’m pleased that Haydock may not be hit by as many showers as we were anticipating.

“That was her first go at Group 1 level, pulling clear in the smaller group on the far side despite edging to the left, showing a really good attitude and managed to fend off the near-side runners. She proved that run was no fluke when she finished third in the Group 2 King George Stakes, being beaten three-quarters of a length. She is progressing, she’s likeable and she’s consistent enough – which stands for an awful lot in this division. I thought 8/1 was about the right price and if I abandoned her at Ascot, I won’t this time around!”

Sam Boswell

“I think you’d need to be brave to take 2/1 about Lazzat, given he didn’t necessarily back up the run in the way you would have expected him to do so. He’s just too short. You can make several cases for an each-way play – I quite like Time For Sandals but the horse I came down on actually finished behind him at Royal Ascot. That was Sky Majesty, who since that day has kicked on nicely, winning twice over at Naas. We didn’t learn enough about the horse [at the Royal meeting] but the interesting thing is the progression we’ve seen since.

“She came into Ascot with just one prep run and has really kicked on in the rest of the season. There’s a lot to like about her chances, she’s an each-way play in the race for connections. William Haggas won this last year and she could have a bit more to offer and when we’re complaining about the sprint division being a bit of a mess, why not take a chance on something that could come through into it and be a force to be reckoned with in the back end of the season?”

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