Harry Angel well equipped to master his elders in Sprint Cup
Three-year-olds have a good strikerate in the 32Red Sprint Cup – they have landed the past three runnings – and Harry Angel, the Classic generation’s pre-eminent colt over six furlongs, can overcome the anticipated soft ground at Haydock to add a second Group One to his tally following his impressive victory in the July Cup at Newmarket.
That, of course, was on quick ground and you have to go back to last year’s Mill Reef Stakes at Newbury for the only occasion he has run on anything softer than good – and he won by 2½ lengths. His sire Dark Angel’s progeny nearly always tend to be more than happy on soft ground and he has already won at Haydock this season. Harry Angel looked a picture on the gallops in Newmarket earlier this week and trainer Clive Cox professed himself happy with the way the colt has matured. “He is enjoying his racing and works better, with more confidence,” he said.
“He was a bit overexuberant to start with but now he’s really getting the hang of it. He has an explosive temperament and containing it is what we’re trying to achieve.”
Brando looks a threat. He was 1¾ lengths behind Harry Angel at Newmarket and proved that was no fluke by later winning the Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville. He has form on soft ground, while the Golden Jubilee winner The Tin Man was second on soft in this race last year.
Aidan O’brien runs Cougar Mountain and Spirit of Valor, but with Coolmore heavily supporting all five Group Ones – two at Leopardstown today and three at a Kildare building site tomorrow – over Irish Champions weekend, bookmakers are offering prices about how many he will win. Betvictor only go 3-1 him winning all five.
He has 17 runners in those races. Three of them, the Matron, Moyglare and National Stakes, look there for Ballydoyle’s taking with, respectively, Winter, Magical and Gustav Klimt.
However, the Irish Champion Stakes looks more open. Churchill had a hard race at York and Ryan Moore will not want to get into a slog as he did there.
Moore rode Eminent to the colt’s confidence-boosting win at Deauville in August. That day he bowled off in front, was allowed to use his stride, and one imagines that will be the game plan under Frankie Dettori. Moore will know how much rope he can or cannot give him, but I feel Eminent is ripe for his first win at the top level.
Tomorrow in France, Ribchester looks the main British hope in the Prix Moulin, while Cracksman gets to have a look at Chantilly for a possible tilt at the Arc in the Prix Niel.