Haydock sprints and Irish Guineas

Those drawn high seemed to be at an advantage in the two feature races run on the sprint track at Haydock on Saturday, the Sandy Lane Stakes and Temple Stakes, continuing a theme from the previous afternoon.

On Friday, the four highest-drawn runners filled the frame in the two-year-old fillies’ maiden run over six furlongs, while the listed Cecil Frail Stakes over the same course and distance was also dominated by the three fillies who made their effort closest to the stands rail.

It’s usually best to take a cautious view when assessing the form of any race in which there is an apparent draw bias, and it was certainly an unsatisfactory renewal of the Temple Stakes won by Dramatised (drawn 10 of 14), who was followed home by Equilateral (116 from 106+) from stall 13, Live In The Dream (remains on 116) from 14 and Existent (110 from 111) from 11 as the first four pulled a little way clear of the rest.

Incidentally, Mitbaahy (remains on 118) fared best of the rest from stall 3, shaping well on his first start for eight months having ended almost on the far-side rail. A Group 3 winner at Newbury last September, he can make his mark at a higher level still this season, likely to prove more of a match for those who finished ahead of him here under different circumstances.

As for Dramatised, she had a length to spare over her closest pursuer at the line, showing improved form after seven months off to make a winning reappearance against her elders. She advanced her Timeform rating to 116 (from 106) and confirmed in no uncertain terms that she has trained on from two to three.

However, she’ll probably need to take another step forward to be competitive in a race like the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot, particularly as she’s unlikely to have the advantages that she appeared to have here in delivering her challenge hard against the stands rail.

Similar comments with regards track position apply to Sandy Lane winner Little Big Bear, though he was entitled to win as readily as he did anyway. After all, he was 11 lb clear of his main form rival, Bradsell, on Timeform’s weight-adjusted ratings beforehand, while his task was made easier still by the fact that all bar the runner-up, Shouldvebeenaring (114 from 108), failed to give their running.

Either way, it was encouraging to see Little Big Bear get his career back on track after his flop in the 2000 Guineas, ultimately landing the spoils by a length and a quarter and doing so without needing to match the form of his Phoenix Stakes tour de force which earned him a Timeform rating of 126 and saw him crowned the highest-rated two-year-old in 2022.

Though precocious as a juvenile, Little Big Bear is a big, strong, lengthy colt and there’s no doubting that he’s trained on now. Sprinting is clearly his game and he’s entitled to be seen as the one to beat for the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot judged on the style of this success and the substance of his two-year-old form.

A stablemate of Little Big Bear, Paddington (119p from 107p) had just a victory in a maiden at the Curragh to his name as a two-year-old, but his progress this season has seen him graduate to the top table among the classic generation and he showed borderline very smart form when completing a four-timer in Saturday’s Irish 2000 Guineas.

Admittedly, Paddington was ideally positioned the way things developed at the Curragh, never far away from the modest gallop, but he was ultimately well on top at the line, quickly asserting in the final furlong to win by two lengths from stable companion Cairo (114 from 105), who ran on late to take second from Hi Royal (remains on 118).

Those held up were unable to land a telling blow – including favourite Royal Scotsman, who didn’t run much of a race regardless – and, on balance, this must be considered just an average running of this classic. For context, Native Trail in 2022 is the only winner in the last decade to have shown lesser form in landing the Irish Guineas.

With a Timeform rating of 119p, Paddington is at least likely to progress further and a clash with Newmarket winner Chaldean (123) in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot should give us a better guide to his merit. Looking further ahead, he seems sure to stay a mile and a quarter when the time comes, too.

Unlike the later-maturing Paddington, Tahiyra (remains on 120p) was at the top of her class in 2022, Timeform’s highest-rated two-year-old filly in training, and she’d taken another step forward when beaten just a neck in the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket on her reappearance, pulling well clear of the remainder.

Sent off the 5/2-on favourite to gain compensation in Sunday’s Irish equivalent at the Curragh, she duly went one place better with the minimum of fuss, not needing to reproduce her Newmarket form to beat old rival Meditate (remains on 112) by a length and a half in ready fashion.

Again, the bare form of this classic is nothing out of the ordinary, but Tahiyra is likely to have a bigger effort in the locker under the right circumstances and a rematch with her Newmarket conqueror, Mawj (122), in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot is a fascinating prospect.

Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore dominated the rest of Sunday’s card with a four-timer, headlined by the victory of Luxembourg (130 from 128) in a top-class edition of the Tattersalls Gold Cup.

Favourite Vadeni was reportedly amiss which robbed the race of some of its interest, but this was still a career-best effort from Luxembourg as he made all to beat Bay Bridge (remains on 129) by half a length, proving very willing to hold off the sustained challenge of a runner-up who had plenty of time to get to him after being denied a run briefly early in the straight.

The first two pulled six lengths clear of the rest and this form identifies Luxembourg as marginally the one to beat in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot, ahead of Bay Bridge, Adayar (128) and My Prospero (128) in what promises to be a race to savour if they all turn up.

Last year’s Derby winner Desert Crown (127p from 129p) is also likely to prove a worthy opponent with his runner-up finish in Thursday’s Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown under his belt, his first start since that memorable afternoon at Epsom after a foot injury had forced him to miss the rest of his three-year-old season.

Most impressive when winning a well-run Derby, Desert Crown was possibly unsuited by the emphasis on speed at Sandown, dropping back to a mile and a quarter in a race run at just a steady gallop. He remains open to more improvement after just four career starts, unbeaten in three before this defeat, and all the top middle-distance races are still likely to be on his agenda this summer.

The same can also be said of Hukum (129 from 127), who equally should have been inconvenienced by the way things developed, faced with the shortest trip he’d run over since April 2021. He also conceded first run when shuffled back entering the final two furlongs, so it was to his credit that he was ultimately well on top at the line, beating Desert Crown by half a length having shown gears that he didn’t seem to have in the past.

Like the runner-up, Hukum was returning from nearly 12 months on the sidelines having fractured a hind leg in winning last year’s Coronation Cup, his only previous Group 1 triumph. There should be more to come on this evidence, looking set to fill the void left by his younger brother Baaeed heading to stud.

The other standout performance on Thursday’s evening card at Sandown came from Elite Status (109p from 92p), who made it two from two with an emphatic success in the listed National Stakes, hitting the front over a furlong out and quickly storming clear from there to land the spoils by five lengths.

Elite Status is now ranked alongside Asadna among the best two-year-olds we’ve seen so far this season, but a clash between the pair at Royal Ascot is unlikely. Asadna has been earmarked for the Coventry Stakes, while Elite Status is reportedly being targeted at the Norfolk Stakes, a Group 2 in which he seems sure to take plenty of beating. After all, this form is already good enough to win an average renewal and it’s unlikely that he’s reached his ceiling just yet.

Back at the Curragh on Saturday, the other key two-year-old event was the Group 3 Marble Hill Stakes in which Givemethebeatboys (103p from 84p) got the verdict by a head from Noche Magica (103p from 96p), with the same distance back to His Majesty (102p from 94p) in third.

Givemethebeatboys stepped up on his debut form to maintain his unbeaten record and he deserves to take his chance in the Coventry after this, while the way Noche Magica shaped suggests he might be worth dropping back to five furlongs for the Norfolk. He looked set to justify strong support for most of the way, only losing out on the nod after cruising to the front a furlong out. The first three are all open to improvement and it appeals as form to be positive about.