With heavy rain forecast today, the changing ground at Haydock could spoil Limato’s chances of another great run. The going is good to soft on the course and trainer Henry Candy will be walking the course before the race and may pull Limato out if conditions don’t suit him. There are seventeen runners in today’s 32Red Sprint Cup Stakes at Haydock, running at 4.30, this group one race is full of potential winners, especially with Limato out of the way.
Limato is today’s favourite with odds of 9/4 with William Hill.
Other trainers will not be too upset by the departure of Limato from the race, Karl Burke, trainer of Quiet Reflection is not worried by the ground conditions at all and neither is Jeff Smith the trainer of Dancing Star. Both horses are in good form and both have a good chance on the softer ground. Odds on Quiet Reflection today are 5/1 with Ladbrokes and Dancing Star is 8/1 with Bet365.
In retrospect, it’s a big field, so take a look at the ones that aren’t being talked about too much; maybe the price is shifting quickly this morning. Richard Fahey's, DonjuanTriumphant for example, he’s in good form and enjoys the conditions with healthy odds this morning of 14/1 with Paddy Power, or James Fanshawe’s The Tin Man, also on good form with three wins from five races, this could be his chance to show he’s a classy horse if Limato is pulled out. The Tin Man has odds of 8/1 with BetVictor.
Make no mistake if Limato ran he would win, he would have to do something really stupid not to come first, so him being ruled out because of the ground conditions is a blessing for the other trainers today. Especially as it isn’t through injury, but through not wanting him to sustain an injury where the ground is too soft for him to handle, this looks set to be another exciting Group one race that we can all sit back and enjoy with plenty of options for first place.
Plenty of other racing around today with cards at Ascot, Stratford, Thirsk, Wolverhampton, Kempton and Navan in Ireland, as well as Baden-Baden in Germany and plenty of overseas racing in Australia and the USA.
Good Luck today.