Almeraq, winner of the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot, is positioned to claim a second Group 1 victory of the season in the Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock Park on Saturday, according to jockey Tom Marquand. The Shadwell colt disappointed in the July Cup at Newmarket, where the combination of fast ground on an undulating track may have contributed to the result, but Marquand has reported the mount fresh and suited to the Haydock assignment.
Clive Cox's Coppull, winner of the Hungerford Stakes at Newbury after stepping up to seven furlongs, arrives in rude health but faces an unknown variable in soft ground, which he has never encountered. The Group 1 winner-in-waiting will be tested by conditions that have previously favored Almeraq, who has proven form on soft surfaces.
At Kempton Park on Saturday, Constitution Hill faces his toughest test in the Group 3 William Hill September Stakes, stepping up in grade against hardened stakes horses including Gethin, Tornado Alert, and Pride Of Arras. Gethin, trained by Owen Burrows, has taken on top company since winning a Listed race on the Polytrack earlier in the year and should find this assignment less taxing. Godolphin's Tornado Alert, a Group 1 winner in Germany last year, will sharpen up after a close fourth in top-level company, while Pride Of Arras poses a danger if he builds on his York Stakes effort.
