Group 1 race
Sprint Cup
Location	Haydock Park Haydock, England
Inaugurated	1966
Race type	Flat / Thoroughbred
Sponsor	Betfred
Website	Haydock Park
Race information
Distance	6f (1,207 metres)
Track	Turf, straight
Qualification	Three-years-old and up
Weight	9 st 1 lb (3yo); 9 st 3 lb (4yo+) Allowances 3 lb for fillies and mares
Purse	£275,000 (2009) 1st: £163,810

The Sprint Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Haydock Park over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each year in early September.

The event was established in 1966, and it was originally open to horses aged two or older. It was devised by Robert Sangster, the heir to the Vernons Pools business, who was subsequently a leading racehorse owner and breeder. During the early part of its history the race was sponsored by Vernons, and it was held in early November. It was initially contested on a course with a sharp left-hand bend.

The Sprint Cup was switched to September in 1979, and it was transferred to a newly-installed straight 6-furlong track in 1986. The race was promoted to Group 1 status in 1988, and this was the last year that it was sponsored by Vernons. For a period the event was closed to two-year-olds, but it was reopened to this age group in 1989. Juveniles were excluded again in 1994.

Contents 1 Records 2 Winners 3 References 4 See also

[edit] Records

Most successful horse (2 wins):

• Be Friendly – 1966, 1967

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Leading jockey (3 wins):

• Lester Piggott – Green God (1971), Abergwaun (1972), Moorestyle (1980)
• Pat Eddery – Record Token (1976), Dowsing (1988), Danehill (1989)
• Willie Carson – Boldboy (1977), Habibti (1983), Dayjur (1990)
• Bruce Raymond – Runnett (1981), Petong (1984), Sheikh Albadou (1992)

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Leading trainer (4 wins):

• John Dunlop – Runnett (1981), Habibti (1983), Lavinia Fontana (1994), Invincible Spirit (2002)

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Leading owner (4 wins):

• Sheikh Mohammed – Ajdal (1987), Wolfhound (1993), Cherokee Rose (1995), Goodricke (2005)

[edit] Winners

Year	Winner	Age	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Time
1966	Be Friendly	2	Colin Williams	Cyril Mitchell	Peter O'Sullevan	1:16.40
1967	Be Friendly	3	Scobie Breasley	Cyril Mitchell	Peter O'Sullevan	1:18.00
1968	no race 1968 [1]
1969	Tudor Music	3	Frankie Durr	Michael Jarvis	David Robinson	1:14.80
1970	Golden Orange	4	Jimmy Lindley	Ken Cundell	Lady Clifden	1:15.60
1971	Green God	3	Lester Piggott	Michael Jarvis	David Robinson	1:15.90
1972	Abergwaun	4	Lester Piggott	Vincent O'Brien	Charles St. George	1:16.16
1973	The Blues	2	Richard Marshall	Bill Marshall	G. van der Ploeg	1:17.10
1974	Princely Son	5	Johnny Seagrave	Ken Cundell	Wilfred Sherman	1:21.75
1975	Lianga	4	Yves Saint-Martin	Angel Penna, Sr.	Daniel Wildenstein	1:18.61
1976	Record Token	4	Pat Eddery	Peter Walwyn	Sir H. Ingham	1:19.50
1977	Boldboy	7	Willie Carson	Dick Hern	Lady Beaverbrook	1:19.21
1978	Absalom	3	Taffy Thomas	Ryan Jarvis	Mrs C. Alington	1:17.99
1979	Double Form	4	Geoff Lewis	F. Johnson Houghton	Baroness H. Thyssen	1:12.72
1980	Moorestyle	3	Lester Piggott	Robert Armstrong	Moores Furnishings Ltd	1:14.81
1981	Runnett	4	Bruce Raymond	John Dunlop	Miss V. Evans	1:14.14
1982	Indian King	4	Greville Starkey	Guy Harwood	J. Levy	1:12.51
1983	Habibti	3	Willie Carson	John Dunlop	Mohamed Mutawa	1:15.31
1984	Petong	4	Bruce Raymond	Michael Jarvis	Tom Warner	1:13.17
1985	Orojoya	3	Brent Thomson	Jeremy Hindley	Robert Sangster	1:16.24
1986	Green Desert	3	Walter Swinburn	Michael Stoute	Maktoum Al Maktoum	1:14.82
1987	Ajdal	3	Walter Swinburn	Michael Stoute	Sheikh Mohammed	1:14.87
1988	Dowsing	4	Pat Eddery	Jeremy Tree	Khalid Abdullah	1:17.24
1989	Danehill	3	Pat Eddery	Jeremy Tree	Khalid Abdullah	1:12.75
1990	Dayjur	3	Willie Carson	Dick Hern	Hamdan Al Maktoum	1:12.50
1991	Polar Falcon	4	Cash Asmussen	John Hammond	David Thompson	1:11.23
1992	Sheikh Albadou	4	Bruce Raymond	Alex Scott	Hilal Salem	1:14.17
1993	Wolfhound	4	Michael Roberts	John Gosden	Sheikh Mohammed	1:10.98
1994	Lavinia Fontana	5	Jason Weaver	John Dunlop	Cyril Humphris	1:11.42
1995	Cherokee Rose	4	Cash Asmussen	John Hammond	Sheikh Mohammed	1:13.74
1996	Iktamal	4	Willie Ryan	Ed Dunlop	Maktoum Al Maktoum	1:09.92
1997	Royal Applause	4	Michael Hills	Barry Hills	Maktoum Al Maktoum	1:14.46
1998	Tamarisk	3	Tim Sprake	Roger Charlton	Highclere Racing Ltd	1:11.30
1999	Diktat	4	Frankie Dettori	Saeed bin Suroor	Godolphin	1:11.04
2000	Pipalong	4	Kevin Darley	Tim Easterby	T. H. Bennett	1:15.49
2001	Nuclear Debate	6	Gérald Mossé	John Hammond	Bob Chester	1:15.39
2002	Invincible Spirit	5	John Carroll	John Dunlop	Prince A. A. Faisal	1:12.44
2003	Somnus	3	Ted Durcan	Tim Easterby	Lady Legard et al.	1:13.49
2004	Tante Rose	4	Richard Hughes	Roger Charlton	Bjorn Nielsen	1:11.58
2005	Goodricke	3	Jamie Spencer	David Loder	Sheikh Mohammed	1:10.87
2006	Reverence	5	Kevin Darley	Eric Alston	G. & L. Middlebrook	1:15.78
2007	Red Clubs	4	Michael Hills	Barry Hills	Ronald Arculli	1:13.11
2008	African Rose [2]	3	Stéphane Pasquier	Criquette Head-Maarek	Khalid Abdullah	1:12.81
2009	Regal Parade	5	Adrian Nicholls	David Nicholls	Dab Hand Racing	1:13.74

¹  The race was abandoned in 1968 because of fog.
²  The 2008 running took place at Doncaster.

[edit] References

• Racing Post:
  • 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997
  • 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
  • 2008, 2009

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• galopp-sieger.de – Sprint Cup.
• horseracingintfed.com – International Federation of Horseracing Authorities – Sprint Cup (2009).
• pedigreequery.com – Sprint Cup.
• The Breedon Book of Horse Racing Records. Breedon Books. 1993. p. 163. ISBN 1-873626-15-0. 

[edit] See also

• Horseracing in Great Britain
• List of British flat horse races