Shaquille heads the field for Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock

Julie Camacho’s three-year-old has made rapid progress through the ranks this season and victory this weekend would leave little doubt about his champion sprinter status.

He produced a remarkable performance to win the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot under Oisin Murphy after completely missing the start – and repeated the trick in the July Cup at Newmarket in the hands of Rossa Ryan.

This weekend Shaquille will be reunited with James Doyle, who steered him to his first two victories of the season but missed both of his Group One wins due to Godolphin commitments.

Henry Candy saddles Run To Freedom, who chased Shaquille home in the July Cup. He is under no illusions, but if there was ever a race for him to get lucky in it is the Sprint Cup, which he won with Markab in 2010 and also with Run To Freedom’s half-brother Twilight Son five years later, and in which he was also third with another half-brother Music Master.

He describes Shaquille as “exceptional”, but he agrees that the Sprint Cup has been good to him and he is “desperate” to get a Group 1 win out of Run To Freedom, second also in last year’s QIPCO British Champions Sprint at Ascot.

Candy made his name with top-class middle-distance runners like Master Willie and Time Charter but he is nowadays much more closely associated with sprinters, thanks also to Group 1 winners Airwave, Kyllachy and Limato and a very strong supporting cast. He denies there is any mystery behind his apparent change of tack, but his views are always worth listening to.

He said: “I don’t know why people think there’s such an enormous difference. You train what you get and these days I think everybody realises that all you have to do is get a horse fit and then the genes will do the rest regarding what trip it gets. The day Martin Pipe trained a Grand National winner off a five-furlong all-weather gallop made me realise that maybe training for distances was not quite as important as one used to think.”

Reflecting on his previous success in the Sprint Cup and his hopes for Saturday he said: “Twilight Son was unbeaten when he went to Haydock, having quickly gone through the handicap ranks. He was quite a surprise to me when he won, having won a handicap at York (off 94) the time before, but his jockey Fergus Sweeney was very confident and he was dead right.

“Markab also worked his way up through handicaps, having won the Great St Wilfrid the year before.”

Candy added: “I think this is a slightly stronger renewal and Run To Freedom can’t beat Shaquille, who is exceptional, but I’ll keep trying to win a Group 1 with him. He’s from that fantastic family of Godfrey Wilson’s, which has served us so well, and I’m desperate to win one in order to make him a stallion.

“I’m just a little bit worried about the drying ground, but we’ll give it a go and see how we get on. He’s won on good to firm, but he prefers a little cut and Ascot next month might suit him better.”

As expected Ralph Beckett has not declared Kinross, instead electing to saddle the filly Lezoo, who got back to winning ways in a Listed contest at Newmarket last time out, who will be ridden by Ryan who summed up what many will be thinking when he said: “On form and on paper I think Shaquille has only to beat Shaquille, that’s the long and short of it. If the true Shaquille turns up we are all going to struggle to get near to him. He’s a freak.”

However, Ryan is by no means without hope and added: “Bar the favourite it’s an open race and I’m looking forward to riding Lezoo. The yard’s in top form and she was back to form when getting her head in front at Newmarket last time. She’s a Cheveley Park winner and she’s back on the right road. She felt great when I sat on her on Tuesday morning.”

Spycatcher has been declared by Karl Burke, however, despite owners Highclere Thoroughbred Racing stating earlier in the week they would more than likely rely upon the supplemented George Boughey-trained Believing due to the prevailing quick ground.

Spycatcher still remains a doubtful runner, though, with Highclere’s Harry Herbert explaining he is only there on the off chance the thunder storms which are forecast for Sunday arrive 24 early.

“We’ve declared but just in case the thunder, which at the moment isn’t due until Sunday, somehow hits early,” said Herbert.

“Speaking to Karl he said we’d be kicking ourselves if that happened and we weren’t in it.

“It’s very frustrating because the horse is in fantastic form and we’d love to run him but at this stage it is highly doubtful. We’ll probably have to wait for autumn targets with Ascot on Champions Day high up the list.”

Jane Chapple-Hyam’s Mill Stream was another supplemented earlier in the week after two impressive wins in France.

Jamie Spencer had a rear view of Shaquille at Newmarket from his shock Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes winner Khaadem. The Charlie Hills-trained seven-year-old was unplaced in the Nunthorpe at York last time, but Spencer believes he has a big chance of a place here at least.

He said: “Shaquille will be a formidable opponent as he seems to be able to win whatever happens. He’s probably still improving, but in the big field on fast ground I’d expect Khaadem to be in the first four. Highfield Princess took us all out of our comfort zone at York, and I never got a chance to fill Khaadem up, but he stayed on really well and felt equally as good as he did at Royal Ascot.”

Tom Marquand rides Sacred, who got within a neck of Khaadem at Royal Ascot. He said: “For whatever reason her two runs as a mature horse at York have been below form, but if you go back to her run before at Ascot she was second in a Group 1 sprint and that form all lines up. Fast ground suits and it should be a similar scenario here.

“Shaquille is obviously very talented, but he wouldn’t have to do much more wrong than he has before in order to make it too hard to win a race like this.”

Ed Bethell is represented by Regional, unbeaten at Haydock in two outings as he steps back up to six furlongs. Saint Lawrence, the Wokingham hero who went close in the Prix Maurice de Gheest for Archie Watson, is another in contention.

With Hollie Doyle in Ireland Luke Morris has come in for the ride on Wokingham winner Saint Lawrence for Archie Watson. He is looking forward to it and said: “He’s shown a lot of ability since he joined Archie and he ran very well in France when a close third behind King Gold and Spycatcher. He’s very versatile, but I think the Haydock ground will be similar to when he won at Royal Ascot and that will suit him. He likes a bit of cover but he has a massive engine and I think he’s got a big chance.”

Swingalong and Garrus are all among the big field, with Richard Hannon’s Happy Romance the first and only reserve.

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