Marvelman could continue Andrew Balding’s stunning run of 2026 Group 1 success as he bids for glory in Saturday’s (5 September) Sprint Cup Stakes at Haydock.

The long hot summer of fast ground in the UK has come to an end, and soft ground specialists are now taking centre stage, with plenty of those among the eight in this quality 1200m dash.

Marvelman comes into that category, as he demonstrated at York when he looked very comfortable galloping from the front, and it was no disgrace to finish third to Notable Speech, who was gaining his sixth Group 1 strike in the City Of York Stakes (1400m).

Although 1200m is a relatively new experience for P J McDonald’s mount, soft ground will turn this into a test, and the distance should be no issue for Marvelman, who is again likely to lead.

Another Sprint Cup Stakes contender who looks to be peaking at just the right time is William Buick’s mount Big Mojo, who won this as a three-year-old last year. He would become only the second dual winner of this race since it was won by iconic sprinter Be Friendly in 1966 and 1967.

A succession of underwhelming runs followed, but Big Mojo’s defeat of four rivals in last month’s G3 Phoenix Sprint Stakes (1200m) was just what was required according to his trainer Mick Appleby. “I think he was just lacking a bit of confidence with the big races he has run in. Now he has got his head back in front, hopefully he will do it again.”

Second to Big Mojo in this last year, as he had been to Montassib the previous year, is James Doyle’s mount Kind Of Blue. Apart from that strong Haydock sprint record, confidence will be gained from the fact that Kind Of Blue’s trainer James Fanshawe is currently in red-hot form.

Fanshawe said: “He always shows up here and there are less rivals against him this year. He has conditions in his favour and, though you need a bit of luck in these sprint races, fingers crossed it is third time lucky for him.”

Fellow Newmarket trainer William Haggas also has his team in great form, and so is jockey Tom Marquand. They had three winners on Thursday (3 September) at Haydock and may well have the Sprint Cup Stakes favourite with the powerful long-striding Almeraq.

An outsider for the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (1200m) at Royal Ascot, he hit the headlines when leading in the last stride of a pulsating finish. No reasons have been offered for a subsequent dismal run – also on fast ground – at Newmarket, but slow ground could bring about a revival, with Haggas observing: “He has big feet on him and was terribly impressive one day on slow ground at Ayr.”

The G1 Sprint Cup Stakes (1200m) is carded as S1-5 and will be run at 10.40pm (Hong Kong time) on Saturday, 5 September.

Photo: Healy Racing