Kevin Blake's Big Race Verdict: Inisherin set for Betfair Sprint Cup glory

• Betfair Sprint Cup the big race at Haydock on Saturday

• Kevin Blake likes the place claims of 16/117.00 Kind Of Blue

• The track can see Inisherin return to his best says Kev

• Get your Completely Free Bet on racing multiples for Haydock's Sprint Cup meeting

• Money Back as a free bet if your horse loses on the Betfair Exchange in the 13:15 Haydock on Saturday

Ryan Moore Superboost

Ryan Moore has a big chance of landing the Betfair Exchange Old Borough Cup (14:25 Haydock) today aboard the Ian Williams-trained Oneforthegutter, and the Betfair Sportsbook have decided to boost the price on the combination finishing in the top six from 8/151.53 to 1/12.00.

Following a fantastic run in last month's York Ebor Handicap, where the 5yo finished an excellent third, Oneforthegutter has now finished in the top six in every one of his last nine starts on turf, so the chances of him doing so again today have to be very high.

To take advantage of this superboot, simply click on the odds in the below bet banner to go directly to the pre-loaded betslip.

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Good ground likely for Betfair Sprint Cup

The Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock (15:35) is long established as one of the highlights of the European Group 1 sprinting programme. It can always be relied on to bring together a string of form lines involving the established sprinting stars and the emerging stars of the three-year-old ranks.

While the race can sometimes become rain sodden, it looks as though the rain that has soaked the southern half of the UK in recent days has decided to spare Haydock. At the time of writing on Friday morning the ground is officially good-to-soft with a warm and dry forecast from now until race time, so it seems reasonable to work on the basis of good ground which should be fair for everyone.

Pace could come from low half of the draw

With the ground established, let's have a look at the potential pace set up. In short, the majority of the most robust pace is drawn middle-to-low. Art Power (9) is one of the more reliable pace pushers in Group 1 sprints these days for all that he isn't an out-and-out front runner. Givemethebeatboys (7) produced his best effort of the season when pushing the pace in the Phoenix Sprint Stakes and is likely to be ridden aggressively again.

Bucanero Fuerte (3) is another three-year-old that looked suited by positive front-running tactics when making a winning return to action in the Lacken Stakes at Naas back in May. He is likely to need even more pace if he is to be as forward on what will be his first run against his elders here, but the intention is likely to be to get forward.

Over at the other side of the track, Swingalong (15) is a regular front runner and it is worth noting that he ran very well when going it alone up the near-side rail when drawn 18 in this race last year.

Blue the Kind Of each-way bet we like

At the prices, the one that jumped out at me is the James Fanshawe-trained Kind Of Blue.

The three-year-old has come a long way in a short period of time, winning his first two starts in novice company in April/May before being thrown into the inferno that was the Commonwealth Cup. For one so inexperienced, he ran a fine race there to finish four lengths behind Inisherin in fourth.

His two runs since in Group 3 company have shown that he is learning with racing and went close to beating Givemethebeatboys in the Phoenix Sprint Stakes at the Curragh last time. Indeed, he might well have won had his rider asked for everything a little earlier. He is open to more improvement and I feel he is overpriced at 16/117.00. He is particularly attractive as a place only bet if that is your cup of tea.

Haydock to help Inishering return to his best

Mind, the one I keep coming back to is Inisherin. The three-year-old has been a fascinating character study through his relatively short career and I have found myself chopping, changing and altering my view of him throughout the season and that trend is going to continue here.

Initially campaigned over a mile, Inisherin bumped into the smart Bellum Justum on debut before beating the high-class filly Kalpana in impressive and clock-busting style in a slowly-run novice at Newcastle in March. Fast-tracked into the 2000 Guineas, he helped force the overly-strong pace, hung left under pressure and faded to be beaten 4¾ lengths.

His connections then dropped him right down to six furlongs for the Sandy Lane Stakes on what Timeform called good-to-soft ground at Haydock and he produced a break-out performance to run out the impressive winner by 3¾ lengths. That performance justified him being supplemented into the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot and he didn't disappoint, winning in fine style by 2¼ lengths.

That victory seemed to announce him as the new star in a sprinting division that desperately needed one, so there was a great amount of hope and expectation attached to him going into the July Cup at Newmarket. The billing proved to be premature, as Inisherin came undone, looking to lack pace at a crucial stage and going on again close home to be beaten 2¾ lengths.

So, what do we make of him? Firstly, part of what has made Inisherin such as interesting character study is that he isn't what one would expect a sprinter to be from a biomechanical perspective.

He is a long, relatively slow strider for a horse running over six furlongs. He has rarely got his revs higher than 2.35sps (strides-per-second) in a race whereas more typical six-furlong performers will more commonly get up to 2.5sps and higher. Indeed, he was by a margin the slowest and longest strider of all the runners in both the Commonwealth Cup and the July Cup.

This unexpectedly long-slow profile for a sprinter often correlates to a large, heavily-muscled physique and that is the case with Inisherin.

While that physique and his consequent mechanics clearly haven't stopped him operating at a very high level over six furlongs, they might hint at an explanation for why we didn't see a similar level of performance from him in the July Cup as we saw from him in the Sandy Lane Stakes and the Commonwealth Cup.

There is a possibility and it was certainly my first impression that it was the stiffness of the six furlongs at Ascot that suited him best. Not enough emphasis tends to be put on it, but six furlongs at Ascot is notably different to six furlongs at Haydock and the July Course at Newmarket. That is summed up most simply by the standard times for six furlongs at the three tracks being so different, with Ascot being 1.12.3, Haydock being 1:10.5 and the July Course being 1:10.2.

Mind, the more I look at it, the more inclined I am to think that while the relative test of stamina at the trip is likely to be a factor, the topography of the tracks might be even more important to him. It may not be a coincidence that Inisherin is unbeaten at orthodox tracks without notable downhill sections, whereas his three runs on the Rowley Mile and July Course at Newmarket have seen him beaten, with him edging left under pressure all three occasions. He ran pretty much gun-barrel straight down the middle of the track at both Haydock and Ascot.

Could it be that Inisherin's mechanics which are all about long, relatively slow and powerful strides are best suited to conventional tracks that don't require him to adjust his stride to negotiate dips?

If that theory is right, the return to Haydock is likely to be a big help to him. Having initially felt that a return to a slightly longer trip for the likes of the Prix de le Foret might suit him best, I have come around to the idea that track topography might well be just as or even more important than the trip for him. Thus, it won't surprise me at all if he produces something closer to the effort we saw from him in the Commonwealth Cup and wins the Betfair Sprint Cup.

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