Almeraq, Kind of Blue Headline Sprint Cup Stakes

Wathnan Racing will be represented at Haydock Park Racecourse in the Sprint Cup Stakes (G1), with Kind of Blue (GB) one of nine horses declared for the Sept. 5 headline group 1 contest. The James Fanshawe-trained 5-year-old was runner-up in the race last year and will bid to go one better under James Doyle, with last year's winner Big Mojo (IRE) also set to return for Mick Appleby. Tom Marquand has ridden Big Mojo in all but one of his starts this year but, with the jockey booked to ride favorite Almeraq (GB), William Buick will take over in a bid to replicate their success 12 months ago. The Haydock contest has traditionally attracted a healthy field, but the nine declarations made the morning of Sept. 3 mark the first time this century that the group 1 contest will have fewer than 10 runners. Other contenders include Coppull (GB), winner of the Hungerford Stakes (G2) last time, and group 1 winner American Affair (GB). While Kind of Blue teed up his prior Sprint Cup runs by competing in August at the Curragh, Fanshawe has taken a more patient approach this time around and hopes it can pay dividends as he comes fresh into Saturday's contest as the 4-1 second favorite behind Almeraq. "He always shows up here," Fanshawe said. "He's run two really good races in the Sprint Cup, there's less runners to contend with this year and he's in good shape. "He's going into the race fresher than we've had him in the past, too. We've done that deliberately as he ran so well at York but was badly drawn at Ascot, which was one of the reasons he didn't run so well there. He just got pushed out on a limb and the ground was plenty quick enough for him, too. "We've just bided our time with an autumn campaign in mind. He's not a difficult horse but it's tricky to know where he's at. He's moving well though and worked nicely on grass last week. His buildup to the race has been exactly what I wanted." Fanshawe is well aware that luck will still be needed if he is to claim one final group 1 success in his own name before his son, Tom, joins him on the license next year. "I can be a bit pessimistic about these things and that's not going to change, so what will be, will be," he said. "The horse has had a nice prep and he looks to have his conditions, so that's in our favor. "You need a bit of luck in these sprint races, so fingers crossed it's third time lucky for him. It took his uncle The Tin Man a few attempts to win the Sprint Cup—he ran in it five times—so sometimes you have to be patient. As for what will happen on the day, that's in the lap of the gods now."