The big clash is on in the Betfred Temple Stakes!

Reckless Abandon wins the vision.ae Middle Park Stakes on Future Champions Day at Newmarket last October. Image courtesy of racingfotos.com. 

Twelve horses have been declared for Saturday’s Betfred Temple Stakes with a really exciting and informative race to look forward to as the Sprint category of the QIPCO British Champions Series explodes into life over Haydock Park’s ultra-quick five furlongs.

The big showdown goes ahead as planned!

Established sprinting star Sole Power takes on the hugely exciting, unbeaten three-year-old, Reckless Abandon.

Sole Power won this race two years ago and was only just denied by Bated Breath last year, with the pair pulling clear of the rest of the field.

Trained by Edward Lynam, the Irish raider proved he was in top form when winning the Pearl Bloodstock Palace House Stakes at the QIPCO Guineas Festival the best part of three weeks ago.

With fast ground on Saturday (which seems likely from the weather forecast) certain to be in his favour, he should prove very hard to beat.

Reckless Abandon went through last season unbeaten, rounding off his year with victory in the vision.ae Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket over six furlongs, one of the season’s top two-year-old races.

He could prove to be a very smart sprinter, but will Saturday’s fast five furlongs suit him as well as six furlongs seemed to last year? That’s a question which remains to be answered.

He is also the only horse in the race that must carry a four pound weight penalty and that won’t help his chances on his first run of the season.

Ballista made all the running when defeating Masamah by a length at Chester earlier this month, giving away eight pounds in weight.

That was a smart performance and this time he meets Masamah at level weights.

Ballista could go well, though Chester is a great track for front-runners and he may not find it so easy at Haydock, especially with the front-running Reckless Abandon up against him.

Spirit Quartz ran the race of his life when chasing home Ortensia in the Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes last year and has twice run well over Haydock’s five furlongs.

He has plenty of ground to make up on Sole Power both in this race last year and on the Newmarket form three weeks ago, however.

More of a threat to the big two may come from Spirit Quartz’s stablemate, Kingsgate Native.

Five furlongs on fast ground with a fast pace suits him ideally and he has run in this race twice before, winning it in 2010 and finishing a three-quarter length runner-up to Sole Power in 2011.

He showed he has retained his form when runner-up to Sole Power at Newmarket three weeks ago and must have a great chance of at least making the frame.

Get along to Haydock Park in Lancashire on Saturday if you can, but otherwise make sure you tune in at 3.50pm on Channel 4 to watch the race live.