Whatever the weather, sprinters at the peak of their
division either have deadly speed or not and Lethal Force bids to flaunt his raw prowess in
that department in Saturday’s Group 1 Haydock Sprint Cup.
Only Moonlight Cloud has been
able to rain on Lethal Force’s parade this summer, but his latest second to that stellar performer in the Prix Maurice de Gheest at her beloved Deauville stands up to the closest inspection. Previously, the Cheveley Park Stud signing had
inflicted two comfortable defeats on last year’s Haydock hero Society Rock in
the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot and July Cup at Newmarket, and the only concern for
trainer Clive Cox is the threat of more rain turning the ground extremely testing.
“Lethal Force is in excellent
form and I really hope conditions are suitable for him,” he told PA Sport. “I couldn’t be happier with him. He’s in
great nick and obviously he has already proved this year he’s at the top of his game.
“He came back very well indeed
from a very good race in France, and (Moonlight Cloud) is a very special filly. With her being on home
territory, it was a tough nut to crack and it was a course record. Adam (Kirby) knows our horse really well, and his
impression on the day was that he probably wasn’t quite as sharp as he was for the July Cup run.”
One who will benefit from the significant easing in conditions on Friday is
the Irish raider Gordon Lord Byron,
who returns to the scene of his second-placing 12 months ago. He was only
three-quarters of a length behind Lethal Force when
third in the Maurice de Gheest and if it gets heavy he will be in his element, as he was last year on Arc day when
capturing the Prix de la Foret at Longchamp.
His latest success came in a weak renewal of the Desmond Stakes over a mile at Leopardstown August 15, and
conditioner Tom Hogan told PA Sport, “He arrived over there on Thursday night and was out on the track on Friday
morning. He’s in very good order. The rain is fine, but a drop was needed as it would have been very quick if they
didn’t get a drop.
“Last year, we thought we were drawn on the side with pace and it didn’t work out like
that. Hopefully, this year we will be.
“We were catching Lethal Force in Deauville the last day we met, so hopefully
there will be a good pace and we might get by him one of these days.”
If Lethal Force underperforms, Cheveley
Park Stud could still collect with the three-year-old they own in partnership with David Armstrong, Garswood.
He beat his elders over seven furlongs in the Lennox Stakes at Glorious Goodwood last time,
and will also benefit from a softening surface.
“The more rain, the better to slow the others down a bit because
we’re dropping him back in trip,” trainer Richard Fahey told PA Sport. “He’s in great form and we’re delighted with
him. He goes there in top shape. We switched him off this year to try to get a mile and he has won over
seven.”
Last year’s Prix Morny and Middle Park winner Reckless Abandon has been forced out of
the race after being found to
be lame. Trainer Clive Cox revealed that the three-year-old, who has had just two outings this term and has been off the
track since finishing fifth in the June 18 King’s Stand at Royal Ascot, has suffered a
late muscular injury.
“He’s not 100 percent sound and he’s sore in his hamstring,” Cox told PA Sport. “Although we’ve
worked on it as hard as we can this morning, we’ve had to admit defeat. He pulled out stiff this morning and he’s
just not 100 percent to perform tomorrow.”
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